
Glass. 



r m 



Book- •■S ^3 



PRESENTED BY 



Sheep Husbandry 
in minnesota. 




BY THOMAS SHAW, 

II 

Professor of Animal Husbandry at the Zhiwersity 
(innesota. 



/Ny RECEIVED • V 

"^ IvlAR 10 1904 



.ffRlODl' 



EDITION. 



10,000 Copies Authorized by the Legislature of Minne- 
sota Thirty Second Session. 



AUTHOR OF 

'Public School Agriculture." "Weeds and How to Eradicate 

Them." "Forage Crops, Other Than Grasses." "The 

Study of Breeds." Soiling Crops and The Silo," Etc. 



ST. PAUL: 

WEBB PUBLISHING CO. 

1901. 



^ 



J 



COPYRIGHT. 1900. by 
WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

P. 

UMr'04 



To the Farmers of Minnesota, and also to 
their Sons and Daughters, the coming 
hope of our magnificent state, this 
work is most respectfully dedi- 
cated by the author. 



University of Minnesota, 
1900 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 



The Author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr. 
Clias. P. Taylor and Mr. W. C. Palmer, of the University of Minne- 
sota, for assistance given in furnishing the sketches used and also 
in various other ways while the book was being prepared. 



THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



This book is written in the hope that it may prove 
helpful to the farmers of our state. The author is con- 
tinually receiving letters from those engaged in sheep 
husbandry asking for information bearing upon every 
phase of the industry. Many of the letters thus re- 
ceived ask for a book that will cover the subject from 
the standpoint of Northwestern conditions. Such a 
book has not previously been written, and the work is 
intended in some measure at least to supply the need. 
In writing it the author has endeavored to produce a 
book that will enable the farmer who has never kept 
sheep previously to take up the work without the hazard 
of making mistakes such as are so frequently made by 
beginners. The measure of the success attained must 
be left to the judgment of a fair-minded public. The 
book is donated to the farmers of Minnesota in the hope 
that in some degree at least it will help to make our 
state what it may and ought to be, viz., the greatest 
sheep-producing state in all the Union. 

Minnesota University Experiment Farm, 
St. Anthony ParJc, Minn., 1900. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Fig. Page. 

1. Students Judging Sheep at the Minnesota University 

Experiment Station Frontispiece 

2. Typical Rambouillet Ewe 26 

3. Group of Typical South Down Rams 28 

4. Typical Dorset Ewe 30 

5. Typical Shropshire Ram 32 

6. Group of Typical Suffolk Sheep 34 

7. Typical Oxford Down Ewe 36 

8. Typical Cotswold Ram 40 

9. Sheep Pasturing on Winter Rye 54 

10. Sheep Pasturing on Sorghum 56 

11. Rape Grown for Sheep Pasture 58 

12. Sheep Pasturing on Oats and Peas 60 

13. Sheep Pasturing on Soy Beans. 62 

14 Plan of Sheep Shed for Breeding Flock 82 

15. Ground Plan of Sheep Barn at Minnesota University 

Experiment Farm 84 

16. Section Showing Frame of Sheep Barn 86 

17. End Section of Feeding Rack 88 

1 8. Sheep Barn at Minnesota University Experiment Farm 90 

19. Plan of Sheep Shed for a Large Flock 92 

20. Plan of Sheep Shed for a Good-sized Flock 94 

21. Section of Movable Fence 102 

22. Feeding Lambs Selected for Fattening at Minnesota 

University Experiment Farm 146 

23. Lambs Fattened at Minnesota University Experiment 

Farm for Market 154 

24. Wool Box 170 

25. Small Home-made Dipping Tank 200 

26. Hog-House and Dipping Tank Combined 202 

27. Side View of Draining Pens, Dipping Tank and Load- 

ing Platform 204 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

Page. 
Benefits from Sheep Husbandry 9 

CHAPTER II. 
Minnesota Eminently Adapted to Sheep Husbandry 15 

CHAPTER III. 
Breeds Adapted to Minnesota Conditions 23 

CHAPTER IV. 
Foundation Flocks 41 

CHAPTER V. 
Pasture for Sheep 53 

CHAPTER VI. 
Fodders for Sheep 70 

CHAPTER VII. 

Shelter for Sheep 78 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Fencing for Sheep 95 

CHAPTER IX. 
Management of Lambs 105 

CHAPTER X. 
Management of Ewes 114 

CHAPTER XI. 
Management of Rams 124 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Flock in Winter 130 



CHAPTER XIII. 
The Flock in Summer : 137 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Fattening Sheep and Lambs 144 

CHAPTER XV. 
Growing Winter Lambs 157 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Shearing Sheep 165 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The More Common Diseases of Sheep 174 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Dipping Sheep 195 



CHAPTER L 
Benefits from Sheep Husbandry. 

The benefits from a wisely conducted system of sheep 
Iiusbandry are many and they are also important. 
Prominent among them are the following : 1. Returns 
are secured twice a year, first, in the lambs and second, 
in the wool. 2. Pasture is utilized that would other- 
wise be wasted. 3. Weeds are destroyed in great num- 
bers. 4. Fertility is maintained in the soil more per- 
fectly than it can be so maintained by any other class 
of live stock kept upon the farm, and 5. There are in- 
cidental benefits, such as the food furnished for the 
farmer's table, the added neatness given to the farm 
and the salutary influences which tending sheep exerts 
upon the youthful members of a family. 

Beturns Twice a Year. — Grain husbandry, and par- 
ticularly wheat husbandry, produces but one harvest in 
a year. Sheep husbandry produces two ; that is to say, 
a harvest of meat and a harvest of wool. The wheat 
harvest is attended with considerable hazard. ISTot in- 
frequently it measurably fails. Sometimes it is a great 
failure. The harvest from sheep never fails where the 
sheep are properly managed. It may fluctuate, but it 
does not fail. A few days' adverse weather when the 
grain is apj)roaching maturity may cut down the hope 
of the wheat grower. Through no fault of his it may 
be smitten with rust or blight. Sheep husbandry is not 



10 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

thus SO dependent on the weather, since sheep may and 
ought to be fed on a variety of foods, some of which 
may be expected to grow in reasonably good form what- 
ever may be the character of the season. 

The wool crop alone, which is as unfailing as the sea- 
sons, should pay for the food consumed in maintaining 
sheep under existing conditions in the Northwest, and 
the returns come in at an opportune season; that is to 
say, in the early summer, when money from other 
sources is not usually plentiful on the farm. The lamb 
ci-op can be marketed at various times according to the 
mode of management, but in any event it brings in a 
second installment every year to reward the flockmaster. 
And, owing to the early season at which sheep breed and 
to the large increase relatively, large flocks may soon be 
secured without oreat outlav for the foundation ani- 
mals. 

' Utilizing Sundry Pastures. — On every farm where 
sheep are not kept much pasture goes to waste every 
year: This is true in some degree of pasture in almost 
every field on the farm. Grain shelled while being har- 
vested produces much pasture every autumn. Grass 
grows up in by places, such as lanes, around fences, 
along the borders of forests and within parks. Weeds 
grow up in the grain and mature innumerable seeds 
after the grain has been harvested. There is no other 
class of live stock that will gather such food with the 
same ease or certainty as sheep, nor is there any that 
will turn it to such good account. Almost everything 
in the form of vegetation they will consume and turn 
into' meat and wool if allowed access to the same while 



BENEFITS PROM SHEEP HUSBANDRY 11 

it is yet green and succulent. When thus maintained, 

sheep are in a sense scavengers, living in a considerable 
degree on vegetable products that would otherwise go to 
waste; and when thus allowed to gather food, the va- 
riety secured is so well suited to their needs, that when 
allowed to graze thus freely, they usually maintain 
themselves in a good condition of thrift. In this way 
a small flock of sheep could be maintained even on a 
dairy farm, without any real outlay in providing food 
for them during the entire period of grazing. 

Destroying Weeds. — There is scarcely a variety of 
weeds found in the Northwest that sheep will not eat 
with avidity if they can have access to the same while 
still young and succulent. There are many kinds that 
they will eat more readily than grass, even in the early 
stages of growth, and for the reason chiefly that they 
are more tender and succulent, but as weeds become 
more and more woody, they will more and more refuse 
to eat them. These discriminations should be duly con- 
sidered when the aid of sheep is sought in the war 
against weeds. 

Sheep will also search diligently for nearly all kinds 
of weed seeds, and when they feed upon them the dan- 
ger need 'xot be feared that the seeds will ever grow 
again, because of the thorough grinding given to them 
in conjunction with the complete digestion that follows. 
-If allowed to graze in stubbles after the removal of a 
crop, the service which sheep will thus render is very 
great. When certain forage crops are sown in a close 
and continuous succession on weed infested lands, and 



12 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

when these are grazed down successively by sheep, there 
is perhaps no weed found in all the Northwest that will 
not soon succumb to such treatment unless it be couch 
grass. 

Minnesota is not more infested with weeds than other 
Northwestern states, and yet it is probably true that 
more weeds e^row every vear on the arable farms of Min- 
nesota than would sustain all the sheep in the state dur- 
ing the entire grazing season. 

Maintaining Fertility. — 'No method of maintaining 
fertility has ever been devised that will compare with 
its maintenance by means of sheep husbandry. This 
fact probably more than any other gave rise to the pro- 
verb: ^The sheep has a golden hoof." Cattle hus- 
bandry will not maintain fertility so easily nor so com- 
pletely. This is owing in part to the fact that more of 
the droppings are lost owing to the way in which they 
are distributed. The same is also at least measurably true 
of swine. The droppings of sheep are scattered over 
the surface of the ground and soon become incorporated 
with the same, through the treading of the sheep. Since 
sheep are prone to live on elevations, the droppings are 
more abundantly distributed on these; that is to say, 
where they are most needed. And due weight should 
be given to the fact of such distribution. It means that 
the lands are fertilized during the entire season of graz- 
ing without any labor entailed by man. All fertility 
produced by sheep is also distributed by them in the 
best possible manner, except what is produced during 
the season of confinement, and this period is shorter 



BENEFITS FROM SHEEP HUSBANDRY 13 

with sheep than with any other kind of live stock kept 
upon the farm. 

The fertility of farm lands can be fully maintained 
by the aid of sheep husbandry judiciously conducted and 
without the aid of commercial fertilizers. The fertil- 
izer sent away in the flesh and wool sold, can be more 
than offset by the plant food deposited in the soil by le- 
gumes and drawn up from the subsoil by deep-rooted 
plants grown in the rotation to provide the food for the 
sheep. This explains why sheep are so frequently used 
in the renovation of soils, the fertility of which has been 
in a great measure removed by over cropping. 

Incidental Benefits. — The food furnished for the 
farmer's table is one of the incidental benefits growing 
out of sheep husbandry. No food is more healthful. 
Xo meat grown upon the farm is more delicious and 
none is grown so cheaply. Especially is this true when 
only a small flock of sheep is maintained, as then they 
live chiefly on food in the summer season that would 
otherwise be lost. 

A second of these benefits is found in the more neat 
and tidy appearance given to the farm because of the 
presence of sheep. They trim out the fence corners and 
by places on the farm. They put out of existence un- 
sightly weeds; and they keep pastures even and nicely 
presentable because of their presence. If allowed to 
g-raze in the highways they will also keep the grass por- 
tion of the same — so closely shorn that pedestrians can 
walk over the same with added comfort, let the weather 
be as it may. 

A third benefit is found in the softening and refining 



14 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

influence which tending a flock of sheep begets in the 
young people of the farm who may have them in charge. 
The gentleness and inoffensiveness of the sheep exert a 
salutary influence on the character of the young people 
who care for them while character is in the formative 
stage. 

Benefits Not Sufficiently Considered. — The benefit* 
which result from sheep husbandry wisely conducted 
have not been sufficiently considered by the farmers of 
Minnesota, or the number of sheep in our state would 
not be so small relatively at the present time. The sta- 
tistics compiled by the United States department of ag- 
riculture give the number of sheep in Minnesota in 1899 
as 419,218, that is to say but 1 sheep for every 120 acres 
of land surface in the entire state. This number is re- 
gretfully small in a state possessed of the highest adapt- 
ation for growing sheep as will be shown in Chapter II. 



CHAPTER 11. 
Minnesota Eminently Adapted to Sheep Husbandry. 

That Minnesota has pre-eminent adaptation for sheep 
husbandry is not generally kno^vn by the outside world. 
How could it be when so small a number of sheep rela- 
tively are kept within the state ? l^or is this adaptation 
understood by the farmers as it ought to be. If it were 
so understood, sheep would soon be found on almost 
every farm within the state. 

This adaptation manifests itself in various ways, as 
for instance, in the undulating surface of much of the 
soil, the varied food production of the same, the abund- 
ance of the water supplies, the plentiful shade, the pro- 
ductive soil, the plentiful supplies of the material for 
shelter, and in the bright and healthful character of the 
climate. The hindrances are few, but these also will 
be considered. 

Undulating Surface. — Sheep love to graze on undu- 
lating pastures. Instinctively they seek the higher 
ground when taking rest, but the lower lands being more 
productive than the higher, they are thus far better 
adapted for producing grazing. The highest adapta- 
tion for grazing sheep is found, therefore, where a hap- 
py combination of hill and valley, of swell and depres- 
sion exists. Such combinations abound in nearly every 
county in the state, including the major portions of the 
land usually denominated prairie. The exceptions are 



16 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

chiefly found in the Red River valley, and even in the 
counties in the said valley the water passes away so 
quickly that in but limited areas does its presence in- 
terfere wdth rearing sheep successfully. The soils 
of the state are also possessed of good natural drainage, 
so that water passes readily into the subsoil and thence 
into the numerous lakes and rivers. The naturally 
porous character of a very large proportion of the sub- 
soil of Minnesota renders the soil eminently adapted to 
sheep husbandry. 

Varied Food Production. — The variety of food that 
can be grown in our state is very great. In this respect 
it is perhaps unrivalled by any state in the Union. The 
reasons are found in the varied soil and climatic condi- 
tions. Minnesota possesses nearly every class of soil 
from sands so light as to lift with the winds to the stif- 
fest and most unyielding red clays. The climate is on 
the whole temperate, though warm enough in summer 
to force a luxuriant and varied growth. In nearly all 
parts of the state there is enough of rain in normal sea- 
sons, and so distributed as to produce an abundant 
growth unless in some instances in the autumn, when 
there is sometimes a deficiency in moisture. As a re- 
sult, nearly all of the most useful grasses can be grown 
in the state with at least a fair measure of success. 

The growth of all the leading cereals is very satisfac- 
tory. 'No state produces flax more abundantly. Corn 
and sorghum can be grown in fine form as food for 
sheep up to the Canadian boundary line. Even soy 
beans and cow peas may be made a success in Central 
and Southern Minnesota. Field roots, as mangels, 



MINNESOTA EMINENTLY ADAPTED 17 

turnips, carrots and sugar beets, are a magnificent suc- 
cess. Minnesota is a paradise for rape and cabbage. 
And the screenings extracted from the grain when 
cleaning it, furnishes an excellent food for sheep. They 
may thus be furnished with a great variety of food sum- 
mer and winter, and, as every intelligent shepherd 
knows, variety in the food products is a prime essential 
to success in sheep husbandry. 

Abundant Water Supply. — Minnesota, as the name 
implies, is proverbially the state of many waters. Its 
lakes number, it is claimed, seven thousand. 

Its rivers are many. It is truly a land of brooks and 
streams and reservoirs of water. The water is the 
purest. It is so pure that the germs of malarial dis- 
eases do not seem to be able to live in it. Such water 
is excellent, not only for sheep, but also for men. And 
where water is not thus found on the surface there is 
scarcely any part of the state in which it cannot be 
found by sinking wells to a moderate depth. 

Plentiful Shade. — Fully one-half of Minnesota was 
originally forest and park country. This means that 
in all the portion thus originally wooded shade is abund- 
ant. Since, even in the portions of the state thus 
wooded that have been cleared, a sufficiency of trees 
have been spared to provide ample shade for sheep. It 
means also that where such shade has not been spared 
it may soon be grown on the principle that where na- 
ture has succeeded in growing trees without the aid of 
man, she will grow them more readily with such aid. 
The Park region, which covers several counties, is pe- 
culiarlv favored in the extent of the shade which it fur- 



18 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

nishes. And in the portions of the state originally 
prairie natural groves are springing up where they are 
protected. On other areas groves are being planted. 
And in no part of the state are the conditions such that 
shade from trees may not be furnished, and that within 
a few brie£ years from the time of planting. The 
value of shade for sheep in summer cannot be easily 
over-^estimated. Sheep do not take injury from low 
temperatures as such. In fact they scarcely heed them 
if protected from Avinds and falling storms. But they 
suffer greatly if not protected from excessive heat, and 
the more that they are laden with flesh, as the result 
of abundant feeding, the more do they suifer propor- 
tionately. A land, therefore, possessed of highest 
adaptation in growing sheep must also be possessed of 
abundant shade. 

Productive Soil. — The prairie soiL of the state are 
wonderfully productive as witnessed in the score of 
successive grain crops in the rotation. In this extra- 
ordinary productiveness is found an explanation of the 
way those soils have been abused in too many instances 
by the system of cropping practised. This abundant 
production is, however, exceedingly favorable to sheep 
husbandry conducted on the intensive plan. The soils 
of Minnesota could be made to sustain all the sheep in 
the United States; that is to say, approximately 50,- 
000,000, and without materially lessening production 
in other lines, on the assumption that all the arable 
land in the state was under cultivation. The sandy 
areas are, of course, not so productive. But even on 
these, relatively large numbers of sheep may be main- 



MINNESOTA EMINENTLY ADAPTED 19 

tallied, as has been repeatedly demonstrated at the Min- 
nesota University Experiment Farm. Approximately 
one hundred head of sheep and lambs have been pas- 
tured there on ten acres of land for successive seasons, 
beginning with 1896. In addition to the pasture, sev- 
eral tons of cured food have also been obtained every 
year from the same land. The land thus cropped was 
sandy in character, but when fairly well supplied with 
rain, the crops that followed each other the same sea- 
son grew with much quickness. For the production of 
forage and fodder crops taken together the major por- 
tion of the lands of the state have high adaptation. 

Materials for Shelter. — The materials for shelter un- 
der Minnesota conditions include lumber and poles for 
the erection of sheds, groves, natural or planted by man, 
to hold the winds at bay, and straw to cover the sheds 
when made of poles, i^atural ravines in the prairies 
may also be turned to good account in providing shelter 
for sheep. 'No state in the ISTorthwest east of the 
Rocky Mountains has so large a timber supply. In 
nearly all the counties of the state poles are accessible, 
which, in conjunction with straw, can be used in build- 
ing shelter at but little cost. 

The natural groves that abound in the state may be 
made exceedingly helpful in keeping at bay one of the 
worst enemies to sheep husbandry in the state; that is 
to say, the keen cold winds of winter. And where such 
groves are not found they can be provided within a fe\/ 
years by planting them and duly caring for them. 
The difference between locating sheep sheds on the 
prairie without such protection, and with it, can only 



20 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

be fully realized by those who have experienced it. The 
same is also true in locating sheds in a ravine in the 
prairie. These deep ravines, with theii steep banks, 
are a feature of Minnesota prairies. Usually streams 
m.eander through them to feed the rivers, and more or 
less of timber grows upon their sides. They may be 
made to render the best of service in providing shelter 
for sheep. 

Bright and Healthful Climate. — It would be difficult 
indeed to find a climate with higher adaptation to sheep 
husbandry than that of Minnesota. The air is usually 
dry and bracing. Violent storms are relatively few. 
The sunshine may well be the envy of other lands less 
favored. The number of bright and cloudless days is 
very large in winter as well as in summer. The weath- 
er conditions are almost ideal. The only drawbacks 
from this source are the sharp winter winds which 
sweep over the prairie and the cold rains which occa- 
sionally occur in spring. From both, sheep ought to be 
protected. The days are unduly warm for sheep for a 
short time in summer at midday, but the nights are 
nearly always cool. The uniformity of the winter 
weather is always quite favorable to sheep husbandry. 
While it is cold the sudden changes are few. The 
thermometer hovers around the freezing point for many 
days in succession, hence it is easy to keep the floor of 
the sheds and yards dry and comfortable. Xor is the 
appetite of the sheep a varying quantity as in warmer 
areas. 

Present Hindrances. — The chief of the hindrances 
to sheep husbandry in the state at the present time are, 



MINNESOTA EMINENTLY ADAPTED 21 

the extent to which fences are absent, the great losses 
to flock-masters from the ravages of wolves and dogs, 
and the want of experience in sheep husbandry on the 
part of so large a number of the farmers. 

On very many farms in the state there are practi- 
cally no fences. This is the inevitable outcome of the 
exclusive attention that has been given to grain grow- 
ing. Where sheep are kept on the farm more or less 
fencing is necessary. Without it that change of pas- 
tures can't be obtained which is so advantageous in 
sheep husbandry. But the fencing needed may be pro- 
vided without great cost as is shown in Chapter VIII. 

The losses from wolves, though considerable, must 
decrease with the clearing up of the country. The leg- 
islature is also doing much to mitigate the evil in the 
bounty which it offers. Not so, however, the dog nui- 
sance. It is certain to increase with the increase in 
settlement in the state, and more especially with the 
growth of villages, towns and cities. A large propor- 
tion of those who kept sheep in former years have 
given up the industry because of losses suffered from 
dogs. The legislature has no right to prohibit the keep- 
ing of dogs in a free country like ours, but it has a 
right to so regulate the keeping of the same that they 
will not harm their neighbor's property and he have no 
means of redress. It is not creditable to our state that 
no provisions are on the statute books of the same to 
protect the sheep industry against dogs. They are not 
there because the farmers have not demanded with suf- 
ficient earnestness that they shall be placed there. As 
soon as the farmers unite in asking for such protection 



22 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

they will get it. And no farmer has a rig-ht to com- 
plain of the absence of such protection who has not put 
forth a reasonable effort to secure it. 

The want of experience in keeping sheep on the part 
of many is perhaps the greatest hindrance to the growth 
of the industry in Minnesota at the present time. The 
number of farmers who have never kept sheep is very 
large. When they do engage in the work they are 
prone to make mistakes and so get discouraged. In the 
hope of preventing such results this book is being writ- 
ten. The teachings of the School of Agriculture and 
of the agricultural press will also exert a similar influ- 
ence. The hope may be cherished, therefore, that in 
the not distant future this hindrance will diminish un- 
til it shall become the least of the hindrances that re- 
tard the progress of sheep husbandry in our state. 



CHAPTER IIL 
Breeds Adapted to Minnesota Conditions* 

It would probably be correct to say that there is no 
pedigreed breed of sheep in the United States that could 
not be profitably grown in Minnesota. The fact re- 
mains nevertheless that some breeds have higher adap- 
tation than others. The adaptation of the various 
breeds in the United States to the conditions of Minne- 
sota will now be discussed. 

The question is continually being asked as to which 
is the best breed. It is very natural that the question 
should be asked by those who wish to establish flocks. 
The answer to it always involves the careful considera- 
tion of the following questions among others: — viz., 
the object sought in keeping sheep ; the conditions that 
relate to climate, shelter and production and the mar- 
ket for the finished product. 

In all arable countries sheep are kept for the tw^o- 
fold purpose of producing w^ool and mutton. Some- 
times, and with some breeds, wool is the more impor- 
tant consideration, and in other instances the same is 
true of mutton. At one time wool was considered rela- 
tively more important than mutton in this country. In 
this fact the explanation is found of the great numeri- 
cal preponderance of the fine-wooled types in the Uni- 
ted States. But this condition is now so completely re- 
moved, that except in the growing of range sheep, mut- 



24 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

ton is likely to continue the more important question. 
This fact should not be lost sight of in determining 
which breed or grade of sheep should be selected by the 
growers in our state. With Merinos the wool product 
has been relatively more important than the mutton 
product. This at least has been true of them in the 
past. 

Adaptation to such conditions as relate to climate, 
shelter and soil should more than anything else deter- 
mine the breed or grade of sheep that should be kept. 
Some breeds, as for instance the Merinos, are so hardy 
that they can withstand exposure to severe conditions. 
Others, as the coarse-wooled breeds, must have better 
care. Small breeds, like the Southdowns, can move 
about more easily and more actively than larger breeds, 
hence they are relatively better adapted to broken and 
rugged pastures and to lands not over abundant in pro- 
duction than the heavy bodied breeds. The latter, as 
for instance the Lincolns, require pastures more level 
in character and rich in production. The intermediate 
breeds, as the Shropshires, are best adapted to what 
may be termed average conditions. 

The market for the finished product should always 
be duly considered. It should always have some influ- 
ence in determining the breed of sheep that shall be 
kept, and in some instances it alone should decide the 
matter, as, for instance, when winter lambs are to be 
grown for the market. Dor sets and their grades are the 
only breed that will completely serve the end sought. 
Again, when pure-bred flocks are to be established, the 
market more than anything else, may settle the ques- 



BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 25 

tion. While it may not be wise at the present time to 
grow Rambouillets for the general market, it may be 
eminently so to grow them in the pure foira to meet 
the needs of the range. 

The Fine-Wooled Breeds. — The fine-wooled breeds 
of sheep in the United States may be classified as 
American Merinos, Delaine Merinos and Rambouillets. 
These are named in the order of relative size, the Amer- 
ican Merino being the smallest. They arc iilso named 
in the order of the fineness of the wool, the fleece of the 
American Merino being the finest, though the differ- 
ence in this respect is not great. Length of fibre stands 
in the reverse order, that of the Rambouillet being the 
longest. 

The American Merino is simply the Spanish Merino 
improved under American conditions. It is a some- 
what small and deep-bodied sheep of only moderate 
w4dth, encased in a fleece of very fine, close, short and 
dense wool, and carrying more or less of wrinkles or 
folds in the skin, especially about the neck and breast. 
The fleece, at all times dense and compact, is so glued 
together at the outer ends of the fibres by the harden- 
ing of the yolk as to render it almost impossible for 
rain to penetrate it. This, in conjunction with certain 
other properties, places the Merino at the head of the 
list in point of hardihood among the prominent breeds 
now found in America. Since, however, their mutton- 
producing properties are not so good as those of the 
Delaine and Rambouillet types, and since they are 
not now greatly sought for to improve range stocks, it 
is questionable if they can be made as profitable in the 




FIG. 2. TYPICAL RAMBOUILLET EWE. 
imported by Geo. Harding & Sons, Waukesha, Wis. 



BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 27 

meantime, under our conditions, as the breeds just 
named. 

The Delaine Merinos are the descendants of Ameri- 
can Merinos, modified in form and in other respects, 
chiefly through selection in breeding. The Delaines, 
embracing several types and families, are compact and 
strong in build, nearly free from wrinkles and folds, 
and covered with an even and abundant fleece of fine, 
dense and beautifully white wool with a fair length of 
staple. Compared with American Merinos, Delaines 
are considerably larger and heavier, more compact and 
symmetrical in build, stronger in bone and possessed 
of better average spring of rib. They are more free 
from wrinkles, folds and dewlaps, and have a longer 
fleece, equally well distributed over the body, but not 
quite so fine nor so well glued together on the surface. 
They also mature somewhat more quickly, have higher 
adaptation for arable conditions, and are superior in 
crossing on range types for mutton production. For 
the last-named use they are much in demand at the 
present time, and as far as can be judged by present 
conditions, this demand is likely to be more or less per- 
manent. Minnesota should therefore have a number 
of pure-bred flocks of Delaine Merinos. 

The Ramhouillet or French Merinos are a tall and 
strong class of sheep, a little upstanding and only fairly 
symmetrical in form. Compared with the American 
Merinos, the Eambouillets are much taller, larger, 
heavier, stronger limbed, and are somewhat more rangy. 
They have a mutton form, not quite so smooth or re- 
fined. The wool of the two types is very similar in 




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BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 29 

many respects, but the Rambouillet fleece is not so 
heavy in projDortion to the size of the sheep, Rambouil- 
lets are much in demand at the present time for cross- 
ing on range stocks. If this demand should continue, 
the breeding of Rambouillets would be quite profitable 
in our state. But even though it should not continue, 
the investment should be a safe one viewed from the 
standpoint of the production of wool and mutton com- 
bined. 

The Middle Wooled Breeds. — The middle wooled 
breeds are the Southdown, Tunis, Dorset, Shropshire, 
Cheviot, Suffolk, Hampshire and Oxford. These are 
named in the order of fineness of wool, beginning with 
the finest. Of the above, the Distinctive Down breeds 
are the Southdown, the Suffolk, the Hampshire and the 
Oxford. They are so named from the ^^Down" lands 
on which they graze in England. The color of the 
face and legs in all these breeds is dark, varying from 
brown or mouse color in the Southdown to jet black in 
the Suffolk. The Shropshire, though not usually call- 
ed a Down breed, is very similar to the Down breeds in 
form, color and essential characteristics. The dark- 
faced breeds are all noted for the production of a high 
class of mutton. 

The 8out]idoiviis are small and neat in form and act- 
ive in their movements. They furnish the true ideal 
type of the mutton sheep viewed from the standpoint 
of form and the quality of the meat. They are admir- 
ably proportioned and of perfect symmetry. The 
fleece is short, finer than that of any of the other Brit- 
ish breeds introduced into America, and it is also more 

3 




FIG. 4. TYPICAL DORSET EWE. 
The property of Geo. Harding & Sons, Waukesha, Wis. 



BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 3] 

dense. The weight unwashed may be put at 5 to 7 
pounds. Want of more size and of more weight in the 
fleece have made the Southdowns less popular than they 
would otherwise be. This breed is not numerous in 
our state^ not so numerous relatively as it ought to be, 
as in hardihood, early maturing and easy keeping qual- 
ities it has a foremost place among Down breeds. 
It is pre-eminently adapted to bluff lands and to sandy 
areas of but limited productive capacity. It may also 
be used wdth decided advantage in crossing upon ewea 
too lank and rangy in form. 

The Tunis breed, introduced from the north coast of 
Africa, are not yet numerous in the United States. 
They have been found well adapted to Southern condi- 
tions, but do not seem to have been tried as yet west of 
the Mississippi river. In general appearance the 
Tunis are not a large breed, but are fairly symmetrical, 
and are possessed of an active carriage. Compared with 
Southdowns they are longer, though probably not much 
heavier, and are more rangy and somewhat longer in 
the limbs. The ears are longer and droop, and the tail 
is much broader. The head and legs are not quite so 
well covered, the wool is somewhat longer and coarser, 
and the fleece a liitle heavier. Like the Dorset, this 
breed will produce lambs at almost any season of the 
year. 

The Dor sets are a somewhat long-bodied sheep, of 
fair symmetry and style, and they are active, easy and 
graceful in their movements. Compared with South- 
downs, they are considerably larger and more rangy in 
form and limb, and both sexes have horns. They are 




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BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 33 

longer in the head, neck and body, not so plump rela- 
tively in the breast, shoulders and crops, nor quite so 
round in the spring of rib. The wool covers less of the 
head and legs, is longer, a little coarser, and considera- 
bly less dense. The head and legs are white, while 
those of the Southdown are some shade of brown. As 
Dorsets will breed at any season of the year, they are 
pre-eminently adapted to the production of winter 
lambs. As breeders, they probably stand first in pro- 
lificacy and in nursing" qualities. They are also good 
grazers and feeders. But since the mutton form is not 
quite so perfect as in some of the Dov/n breeds, the at- 
tempt should not be made to supplant these with Dor- 
sets, except for the production of early lambs. For 
such a purpose there should be a prosperous future be- 
fore them in Minnesota. 

Shropshire in the ptire and graded form are much 
more numerous in Minnesota than any other breed of 
sheep. This popularity is no doubt deserved, since 
Shropshires are possessed of what may be termed an 
equilibrium of properties which highly adapt them to 
the conditions of the average farm. They are of me- 
dium size and are possessed of much symmetry of form 
and uniformity of character throughout. When fully 
matured and in fair condition, rams should weigh not 
less than 225 poimds, and ewes not less than 175 
pounds. The average fleece from a ffood fiock should 
clip 9 to 10 pounds unwashed in the ewes and more in 
the rams. The wool is of medium length and of more 
than medium density for the middle wooled breeds. 
Shropshires are good grazers on arable lands, feed well 




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BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 35 

and produce a fine quality of mutton. Compared with 
Southdowns, they are larger and longer in body and 
carry a heavier fleece. The head has a more complete 
covering of wool, and the wool on every part is longer 
but not so fine, and the color of the face and legs is con- 
siderably darker. 

The Cheviots came originally from the Cheviot hills 
between England and Scotland. They have not yet 
been introduced to any appreciable extent west of the 
Mississippi river. This handsome breed is of medium 
size and has at least a fair degree of symmetry, and is 
unusually active and hardy for so large a breed. The 
head is bare and essentially white in color. The aver- 
age weight of mature rams in good flesh is about 200 
to 220 pounds and of ewes 150 to 160 pounds. The 
average fleece should weigh from 8 to 10 pounds un- 
washed. There would seem to be a place for this hand- 
some and hardy breed in Minnesota. 

The Suffolk Downs are not numerous in the Uni- 
ted States. Whether they will become as popular as 
the other Down breeds the future only can determine. 
They have a pleasing outline. The body inclines to 
long. The head is bare of wool, and both head and 
legs are jet black. The quality of the mutton is very 
good. The Suffolk Downs would seem to occupy an 
intermediate place between the Shropshire and Hamp- 
shire Downs. 

The Hampshire Downs are a large and heavy breed 
of sheep, with robust form and strong limbs. They 
bear considerable resemblance to the Oxford Downs, 
bi;t are not quite so heavy a breed, nor is the fleece so 




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BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 37 

long or coarse. They are noted for prolificacy and 
abundant milk production, hence in Britain they stand 
high in favor for the production of lambs of good size 
and quality for the early market. There would seem 
to be no good reasons why they should not be grown for 
such a use in Minnesota, into which some good flocks 
have already been introduced. 

The Oxford Downs are more numerous in the United 
States than any of the dark-faced breeds, save the 
Shropshires. Some good flocks have been established 
in Minnesota. Like the Hampshires, they are best 
adapted to arable conditions where the grazing is good 
and food production is generally abundant. Oxford 
Downs are large, substantial and stately looking sheep, 
neither rangy nor yet of the most compact or low-set 
type, and are covered with a heavy fleece of wool in- 
clining to coarse and which stands at right angles to 
the body. Compared with Shropshires, they are con- 
siderably stronger in body and not so long for the width. 
They are longer in the head and ear and have less but 
longer wool on the head. The face and legs are not so 
dark and the fleece is heavier and coarser. When in 
good flesh the rams should average about 250 to 275 
poimds in weight and the ewes about 200 to 225 pounds. 
The average fleece in well-kept flocks should weigh 
from 10 to 12 pounds unwashed. 

The G oarse-W ooled Breeds. — The coarse-wooled 
breeds in the United States for which pedigrees are 
kept are, the Leicester, the Lincoln, and the Cotswold. 
These have not attained the same popularity as some of 
the fine and middle wooled breeds, but they are steadily 



38 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

growing into favor. There are relatively few flocks of 
any of the coarse-wooled breeds in Minnesota. They 
are all possessed of heavy and compact forms, are essen- 
tially white in the color of the face and legs, and are 
characterized by more or less of openness of fleece. It 
has been claimed, and probably with truth, that this 
openness of fleece has made them more liable to injury 
from cold rain storms. But there should be an impor- 
tant place for at least some of the coarse-wooled breeds 
in Minnesota. A cross of one or the other of these 
when judiciously made will usually speedily increase 
the average size of the animal and the average weight 
of the fleece. 

The Leicestei' breed, though the oldest of the im- 
proved breeds, is the least numerously represented in 
the (Jnited States. The reasons are not readily appar- 
ent, 51 nee there is not a coarse-wooled breed of much 
value in Britain on which the Leicester has not effected 
improvement. They are symmetrically, evenly and 
plumply developed, have a massive and yet refined 
frame, a restful but not sluggish carriage, and are, 
when in good form, truly beautiful animals. Their 
fleshing properties are of the best. The average 
weight of a mature Leicester ram in good flesh may be 
put at 225 to 250 pounds and of a ewe at 175 to 200 
pounds. The author has not met with a pedigreed 
flock of Leicester sheep in Minnesota. 

The Lincoln is the largest of the improved breeds of 
sheep, although in this respect it is but little ahead of 
the Cotswold. The average weight of matured rams 
in good flesh may be put at 250 to 275 pounds, TU© 



BREEDS ADAPTED TO MINNESOTA 39 

average weight of the fleece in good flocks is from 12 to 
14 pounds unwashed. The Lincoln in full fleece lias 
a square-like and massive form, the long wool coming 
well down toward the ground. When kept in the pure 
form they are well adapted to an intensive cultivation. 
A cross of the Lincoln upon the grade Merino has long 
been a favorite one with many ranchmen in the Uni- 
ted States, and such a cross was never more popular 
than now. Compared with Leicesters, Lincolns are 
stronger in bone and more massive. The head is 
stronger, has a tuft of short wool on the forehead, is of 
a darker shade of white and has somewhat broader ears. 
The wool is longer, is more evenly distributed, and 
usually hangs in larger and more wavy spirals. 

Cotswold sheep are much more numerous in the Uni- 
ted States than either the Leicester or Lincoln breeds. 
In adaptation they are very similar to the Linroins, 
and they are kept for somewhat similar purposes. They 
are stately looking animals, of rectangular outline when 
the fleece is well growm, massive in build, and possessed 
of a fairly proud carriage. Compared with the Leices- 
ters, they are considerably larger and are 'a little more 
^^ipstanding." Their wool is longer and hangs in 
larger and more wavy spirals. They have a long and 
beautiful forelock and are of a less pure white in the 
face and legs. Compared with the Lincolns, they are 
somewhat similar in size and also in various features 
relating to form, but they carry a considerably coarser 
fleece and about equal in weight with that of the Lin- 
colnSj but it hangs in heavier spirals. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Foundation Flocks. 

The flocks established will be pure or grade accord- 
ing to the object or objects for which they are kept. 
When sheep of the pure breeds are chosen, they will be 
kept chiefly with a view to sell the progeny for breeding 
purposes. The mutton and wool which they furnish 
will be secondary considerations. When grades are 
bred it w^ll be for the mutton and wool obtained. 

Great Opening for Purehreds. — There is a great 
opening at the present time for the establishment of 
purebred flocks in Minnesota. The proportion of 
farmers in the state who keep sheep of any kind is rel- 
atively small. There will unquestionably be an exten- 
sion of sheep husbandry in all parts of the state, and 
in the very near future. Purebred flocks will be want- 
ed to furnish rams for the flocks that will thus be estab- 
lished. There is also a constant demand for purebred 
rams of certain classes on the vast ranges of the west, 
and this demand is likely to grow more rather than less. 
The ranchmen as a rule do not grow their own rams. 
They purchase them east of the Mississippi and in Can- 
ada, going right across Minnesota in the search for 
them. There are no good reasons why Minnesota 
should not in the near future be able to supply this mar- 
ket. \No state in the Union is better fitted by nature 



42 SHfiEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

for growing them. Why should not our own farmers 
reap the profits that would be gathered in from such a 
harvest. 

Who Should Groiv Purebreds? — Every one is not fit- 
ted for such a work. The man who has never grown 
sheep of any kind should not engage in it unless he can 
secure the services of a properly qualified shepherd to 
supervise the w^ork. The person who does not under- 
stand properly the requisites in form in sheep, and 
more especially the standard points of the breed which 
he desires to keep, should not engage in it. The indi- 
vidual who has not studied the more essential laws of 
breeding is not yet ready for the work. 'Nor should 
he launch out in the breeding of purebreds who is not 
fond of what may be termed the commercial side of 
farming, since the proper handling of a purebred flock 
involves a large amount of correspondence and no small 
degree of business shrewdness. The man of fair gen- 
eral business capacity who has made a success of a flock 
of grades would also be likely t'f make a success of a 
fiock of purebreds ; so would the farmer's son who has 
a natural fondness for sheep husbandry, and who is 
ambitious to excel in it. But young men of this class 
should proceed by the safe method of establishing small 
flocks, and thus growing into the business in a way that 
involves little or no financial hazard. 

Establishing a Floch of Purebreds. — In deciding 
upon the breed to invest in, a due regard should be had 
to the present and prospective demand for the breed, 
but more especially to the latter. Having fixed upon 



ti^OUNDATiON FLOCKS 43 

the breed, select good females though a good price must 
be paid for them. It is follj to invest in a low grade 
of purebreds because they can be cheaply obtained, in 
the hope of improving them through careful breeding. 
Life is too short to spend it in that way. Every care 
should be taken to secure healthy animals and of good 
form, and withal possessed of good pedigrees. Avoid 
purchasing animals that have been exhibited at leading 
shows, as they are not so easily kept in good form as 
sheep that have not been forced so fast, nor are they 
likely to breed so well. First-class males only should 
be chosen and of choice breeding. A high degree of 
success cannot be reached unless correct judgment is 
shown in the choice of males. They must not only be 
high in individuality, but unless they are prepotent; 
that is to say, unless they have the power in a marked 
degree of enstamping their own characteristics on the 
jDrogeny, they should not be retained for breeding. 
While prepotency cannot always be determined before- 
hand it is pretty certainly guaranteed by excellent 
breeding and evidences of much vigor and stamina. In 
breeding purebreds, as in breeding grades, inferior ani- 
mals will appear occasionally in a flock, let the breed- 
ing be ever so skilful. These must be culled out as fre- 
quently as they appear and sent to the block, otherwise 
a sufficiently high standard in breeding cannot be main- 
tained. 

Establishing a Flock of Grades. — In establishing a 
flock of grades mixed breeding is not necessarily any 
objection to the females chosen as foundation animals. 
In fact, it may be a positive advantage in some in- 



44 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

stances, where the form of the animals is at least fairly 
correct, since the more mixed the breeding of the fe- 
males the less will be their power to resist change sought 
by mating them with a prepotent male. In other words 
the more mixed the breeding of the female, the more 
likely is the progeny to possess the characteristics of the 
purebred male used in effecting improvement. There 
are no good reasons why much more than meat prices 
should be paid for such animals. They can be picked 
up anywhere in the country where suitable individuals 
may be found, or, they may be purchased at the stock 
yards by selecting from females sent down as stockers 
from the ranges. Such animals can usually be obtained 
most cheaply in the months of October, l^ovember and 
December. They may be selected in person or through 
a responsible commission agent as may be deemed ad- 
visable. In selecting foundation animals every care 
should be taken to guard against the introduction of 
such diseases as scab, tape worm and stomach worm. 
Against the two latter however it may not be possible to 
guard, since it may not be possible to tell whether the 
animals chosen are entirely free from them. But when 
a flock is once established, and no traces of such troubles 
can be detected, it is greatly important that the flock- 
master shall thenceforth raise the females used in breed- 
ing to avoid the risk of introducing disease by bringing 
in other females. 

While the females may be of common or mixed breed- 
ing, it is imperative that the males shall be of good in- 
dividuality and purely bred. The better they are in 
both respects the more certainly and the more speedily 



FOUNDATION FLOCKS 45 

will they effect improvement in the progeny. Grade 
sires cannot certainly be depended upon to effect im- 
provement, since their properties are not stable or fixed, 
and the more mixed their blood elements the less fixed 
will those properties be. 

While it is important that the individuality of the 
rams and also their breeding must be good as stated 
above, it is not necessary that they shall stand high in 
what may be termed fancy points. To illustrate: A 
Shropshire ram, excellent in other points, may have a 
head too little covered with wool and somewhat off in 
color. These objections would justly bar him from be- 
ing placed at the head of a valuable pure bred flock of 
Shropshires, lest the same undesirable characteristics 
should appear in the progeny. In such instances sales 
would be injured. But though these characteristics did 
appear in the progeny of grade females what harm 
would follow ? They are being grown for the block. 
Wherein can the block value be affected by a scant cover- 
ing of wool on the head or by the same being a little off 
in color? Pure bred males thus defective in fancy 
points may sometimes be purchased cheaply to head 
grade flocks, and when they can, such an advantage 
should be duly considered. 

Select Males from One Breed. — In breeding grades 
the males should, as a rule, be always selected from one 
breed. There may be instances in which it will prove 
advantageous to introduce an outcross from another 
breed, and for cerain reasons it may be proper some- 
times to continue to select sires from the breed chosen 
in making the outcross. And there may be yet other 



46 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

instances in which crossbreeding is legitimate, but what 
is termed zigzag crossing, that is to say, choosing suc- 
cessive sires from different breeds is to be deprecated. 
As a rule the males should be chosen successively from 
one breed. 

In fixing upon the breed from which sires shall be 
chosen for grading up, adaptation to the conditions, the 
market demands and the taste of the individual, should 
be considered. The question of adaptation to condi- 
tions has already been discussed in chapter III. The 
market demands vary, but usually the cycles of varia- 
tion are not so rapid as to seriously frustrate plans that 
have been well laid with a view to the production of 
mutton and wool of a certain class. The natural pref- 
erences of the individual should have considerable 
weight. If, for instance, either one of two breeds will 
answer fairly well from which to choose sires, they 
should certainly be chosen from that breed for which 
the individual has a preference. The work of up-grad- 
ing will then be more congenial than if the other breed 
had been chosen. As the markets are at present, the sires 
should as a rule be chosen from one of the dark faced 
breeds except when winter lambs are sought, since 
grades of these breeds are in the meantime more popu- 
lar than grades of the other classes of sheep. Possibly 
sometime this may change, but such a change is not 
likely to take place in the near future. 

The advantage from choosing successive sires from 
the one breed when grading up may be readily demon- 
strated. Choose a purebred sire of good individuality 



FOUNDATION FLOCKS 47 

from the Shropshire breed for instance, and mate him 
with ewes of mixed breeding. When such mating is be- 
gun the difference in blood properties between the sire 
and dam may be represented by one hundred. If the 
purity in breeding and the prepotency of both sire and 
dam were equal the progeny would inherit of the prop- 
erties of each about 50 per cent, that is to say, it would 
resemble one parent as much as the other. But in 
reality the offspring inherits more of the properties of 
the sire than of the dam, because the sire is more pre- 
potent than the dam. The more pure his breeding and 
the greater his vigor, the more prepotent is he likely to 
be, that is to say, the greater is his power to transmit, 
his qualities to the offspring. On the other hand, the 
more mixed the breeding of the dam the less power does 
she possess to transmit her properties to the offspring. 
The properties transmitted by the sire therefore will ex- 
ceed those transmitted by the dam just in proportion a& 
his prepotency exceeds that of the dam. This explains 
why, in up-grading, the progeny of the first cross bears 
so much of resemblance to the sire. Suppose 75 per 
cent of the properties of the lamb are inherited from 
the sire, the gap or dissimilarity in blood properties 
still to be bridged over is now represented by 25 per 
cent, whereas it was represented by 100 at the begin- 
ning. Choose the next sire from the Shropshire breed 
and mate with the female progeny the result from the 
first mating. The progeny will again bear a prepon- 
derance in resemblance to the sire, for reasons already 
given. But the improvement in the second instance is 
less relatively than in the first, for the reason that th^ 



48 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

room for effecting improvement was not so great. Con- 
tinue to breed thus and in four or five generations the 
progeny will practically possess about 100 per cent of 
the properties of the Shropshire breed. In other lan- 
guagCj for producing wool and meat, they will be prac- 
tically equal to the Shropshires. This process, as has 
been indirectly intimated, is known as up-grading, and 
it is the plan of breeding that should usually be fol- 
lowed by farmers in the breeding of all kinds of grade 
stock. 

But it may be found that after a time the average size 
of the breed has grown less. In other instances they 
may have grown too leggy or too rangy, and yet again 
the staple of the wool may have too much diminished. 
To remedy these and other defects, it may be necessary 
to make an outcross. In the case of grades that would 
mean the introduction of a male from some other breed. 
If for instance one were breeding Shropshire grades and 
the size became too much reduced, to counteract this de- 
fect a sire could be chosen from the Oxford or Cotswold 
breeds. A sire from either of these breeds would also 
lengthen the staple of the wool but probably at some 
sacrifice in its density. A sire from the Southdown 
breed would counteract undue lankness of form. The 
outcross having been made, the previous line of breed- 
ing may be resumed. But there may be good reasons 
when it would be advisable to continue to choose sires 
from the breed used in making the outcross. Such a 
course might be proper if the first chosen was found too 
large for the conditions of pasturage. It would prob- 
ably be prudent in such an instance to outcross with 



FOUNDATION FLOCKS 49 

Southdowns and to continue to choose sires from the 
Southdown breed. However, when the breeding, care 
and selection are what they ought to be, the necessity 
for out-crossing will be greatly reduced. 

Cross-breeding may in some instances be legitimate. 
Usually it means the mating of animals of two distinct 
breeds, pure in their breeding or .rich in the blood ele- 
ments of some distinct breed. Usually it brings with 
it improvement in the first cross, but the results in suc- 
ceeding crosses are likely to be variable and uncertain, 
and in many instances they are inferior to the results 
obtained from the first cross. Let it be noted here that 
these results in no way weaken the argument given 
above which virtually claims that in up-grading, im- 
provement should be continuous until the level of the 
breed is reached from which the sires are chosen. 
Cross-breeding and up-grading are very different pro- 
cesses. The latter is far more certain in its results and 
is therefore the much safer of the two processes for the 
farmer to practice. In some instances however cross- 
breeding may be beneficial. If, for instance, range 
ewes possessed in a considerable degree of Merino blood 
are purchased early in the season, and if they are then 
crossed by sires of some of the good mutton producing 
breeds to secure early lambs, and if when the lambs are 
sold the ewes also are sold early, the venture may prove 
a profitable one . 

Zigzag crossing is to be deprecated. If sires are 
first chosen from one breed and then from another and 
another, no stable or certain properties can be secured. 



60 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

One cross may effect improvement, a second cross may 
result in deterioration. A farmer may breed thus 
through the whole of a lifetime and not in any degree 
lift up the average of results to a higher plane. He 
would be sailing on a sea without a compass. He is 
simply playing a long game of guessing. 

Leading Essentials in form and Fleece. — These are 
given below as submitted by the author in ^The study of 
Breeds" recently published by the Orange Judd Co., 
^ew York city : — 

The mutton breeds all possess the same leading es- 
sentials as to form. These include width, depth and 
length of body and compactness of frame ; the cylindri- 
cal shape which is the outcome of plump shoulders and 
hips, and well sprung ribs ; and a fleece of even length 
and quality covering all parts of the body. 

The minor points of difference include: Variations 
in size of carcass and bene ; in the length of the leg and 
of the coupling of the body; in the color of the head 
and legs and the amount of covering on them; in the 
form and carriage of the head ; in the length, shape and 
carriage of the ears : and in the length and density of 
the fleece and the character of the staple. 

The leading essentials of the?^ams of the mutton breeds 
as to form are as follows : Size. — Medium to large, for 
the breed, and the bone medium to strong, but not 
coarse. Outline. — The body should be smooth, com- 
pact and strong, cylindrical in shape and square at the 
ends. Head. — Medium to strong in size, short rather 
than long, but varying with the breed, and carried 
proudly. ~No&e and muzzle tapering but not too fine; 



:" FOUNDATION FLOCKS 51 

nostrils wide and expanded. Forehead and poll, wide. 
Eye, large, full, bright and daring. Ear, medium in 
size and thickness for the breed, broad rather than long, 
erect rather than drooping and possessed of lively play. 
Nech. — -Short rather than long, not coarse, and carrying 
the head well erect. It should not be coarse at the junc- 
tion with the head and should be free from throatiness. 
It should be round rather than flat, and should increase in 
width laterally and underneath as it recedes from the 
head. It shouM fit into the withers evenly above, and 
into the shoulders evenly and strongly at the sides and 
underneath, the blending being imperceptible. 

Body. — Long, wide, deep, round and equally well 
balanced before and behind. Back, level, wide, well 
fleshed and slightly rounded outward, with the spinal 
column hidden and even depressed from the loin to the 
tail-head. Loin, broad and full, underline straight. 

Breast, broad, deep, full, massive. Brisket, broad and 
well rounded. Shoulder, large, plump and smooth, 
wide above, rounded out from above, forward and be- 
low to the center, well filled before and behind, and well 
covered. Forearm, strong and well developed. Crops, 
well filled. Girth, good around the heart, and about 
equally good at the hind flank. Coupling, short rather 
than long. Ribs, well sprung from backbone, nicely 
arched and deep, not distant from one another and com- 
ing well forward and backward. Hindquarters, long, 
broad and deep, rounded out from above and behind to- 
ward the center of the hip, and broad at the buttock. 
Twist, well filled and placed low. Hind flank, well 
filled outwardly, low and thick. Thigh, broad and well 



52 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

filled within and without. Tail, set on smoothly and 
on a line with the back. Skin, a rich pink in color, and 
possessed of good handling qualities. Wool. — The 
whole body should be well covered with wool, character- 
istic of the breed. The wool should be of iiniforin 
length and texture and should possess the qualitle.s es- 
sential in a first class fleece as given below. Legs. — 
Short, straight and strong; wide apart and yefc well un- 
der the body, and standing firmly on hoofs of good shape 
and quality. Appearance. — The appearance should be 
animated and the carriage easy, proud and graceful. 

The ewes of the mutton breeds possess the same lead- 
ing essentials as to form as the rams, with the following 
points of difference: They are not so large in !*raiTte, 
are finer in bone and are more round in the barrel or 
coupling. The head is smaller and finer and is carried 
less proudly. The neck is longer and finer, more eB])e- 
cially where it joins the head. The twist is not quite 
so well filled and the wool is finer in fiber, at lennl: in 
some instances. 

The following include the more important of the 
characteristics of a good fleece: Good length, strength 
and density of staple for the breed; even distribution 
over the body, both as to length of staple and quality i7i 
the wool; a fine bright lustrous appearance; absence 
of cloudiness; freedom from kemp and cot; and the 
absence of all such impurities as sand, burrs and chaff. 

The distinctive peculiarities of each breed can only 
be learned by a careful study of the standard points for 
the same in conjunction with the study of the animals 
themselves. 



CHAPTER V. 

Pastures for Sheep, 

The pnstures best adapted to sheep are those that are 
fine, juicy and nutritious, and that furnish succulent 
grazing during a large portion of the pasturing season. 
Some parts of Minnesota do not furnish such pastures 
so plentifully as states in which the rainfall is more 
abundant and the distribution throughout the season 
more complete. Much of the state is yet covered with 
natural grasses. These are excellent while they last, 
but the season of their succulence is short. To make 
sheep husbandry eminently successful, therefore, it is 
necessary to sup],>lement the grass pastures with other 
varieties sown from time to time. 

Necessity for supplemental Pastures. — The necessity 
for supplementing the grass pastures exists in some de- 
gree at least in all parts of the state, as indeed in all the 
arable sections of the northwest. But the neco.-^.ilty is 
greater in some sections of the state than in others, hi 
southeastern Minnesota the growth of cultivated grasses 
is more luxuriant than in some other parts of the same. 
This also is true of northeastern and of many pi^'ts of 
northern Minnesota. In other parts of the st^it'^. tlieie- 
fore, the necessity for supplementary pastures is r'4a- 
tively greater. Of the cultivated grasses there is none 
that will surpass blue grass in adaptation ^.o t^ie needs 
of sheep, but usually its period of succulence in Minne- 



PASTURES FOR SHEEP 55 

sota is confined to a few weeks in the spring and to a 
shorter period in the autumn. The new grass, Bromus 
inermiSj known variously as Russian brome, Austrian 
brome and awnless brome has not been sufficiently tried 
yet under our conditions, to speak confidently cf its 
merits. It has much promise however as a pcislure 
grass because of the earliness, the laten=^s;-> and the 
length of the period covered in its growth each season, 
and because of its higher relative adaptation liian timo- 
thy and blue grass for being grown on sandy land. 

Benefits from Supplemental Pastures. — Prominent 
among the benefits from growing supplemental pastures 
are the following: First, the sheep may thus be pro- 
vided with an abundance of succulent food during all 

the season of growth. Second, because of this the ewes 
milk much better during the period of lactation, the 

lambs grow more quickly, and the average size of the 
individuals composing the flock may easily be main- 
tained if not indeed improved upon. Third, the number 
of sheep thus maintained on a given area may be greatly 
increased, and fourth, the change of pasture thus pro- 
vided may be so managed as to much lessen the tendency 
to disease in the flocks. 

Plants Best Suited for Supplemental Pastures. — 
Prominent among the plants of highest adaptation in 
providing supplemental pastures under Minnesota con- 
ditions are, winter rye, corn, sorghum and rape. Those 
also valuable but not so high in adaptation include, 
mixed grains, millet, soy beans and cabbage. Of the 
former, winter rye is one of the most valuable. It may 




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PASTURES FOR SHEEP 57 

be made to furnish a large aiiioiint of pasture, fall and 
spring. Rye pasture when kept closely grazed is suc- 
culent, palatable and nutritious. It is ready earlier in 
the season than any other kind of pasture, and it can 
be grown to provide grazing at those times of the year 
which do not interfere with the growth of various other 
crops the same season. Winter rye may be made to fur- 
nish grazing for from 2 to 6 weeks in the autumn and 
from 4 to 6 weeks in the spring. 

Corn may be turned to excellent account in furnish- 
ing pasture for sheep during the summer months. When 
eaten down after the first joint has been formed, it will 
not grow again, hence it should not be grazed at too early 
a period in its growth. By sowing corn at different 
intervals it may be made to furnish pasture from some 
time in June in the southern half of the state until the 
■ arrival of frost. In the northern portions of the state 
the period for pasturing corn would be shorter. 

Sorghum is even more valuable than corn as a pasture 
plant, for the reason that it grows again when cropped 
down. It is pre-eminently a hot weather plant, hence, 
it produces the most pasture relatively when the wea- 
ther is warm. E'either corn nor sorghum is so palat- 
able as rye or rape, but if not allowed to become too far 
advanced before being pastured, both are eaten greedily 
by sheep. Sorghum may be made to furnish pasture 
from about the middle of June until the arrival of frost. 
It furnishes a large amount of pasture relatively from 
a given area. As both corn and sorghum grow at their 
best in warm weather, both have highest adaptation for 
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PASTURES FOR SHEEP 59 

Rape, in the judgment of the author, is by far the best 
pasture plant for sheep that has yet been introduced 
into the northwest. It may be sown at any season from 
early spring until the middle of July, and even later 
than July when the weather is favorable. 'No plant 
grown as supplementary pasture is so highly relished 
by sheep. ISTone is more highly nutritious, nor will any 
furnish more food per acre when grown on rich land. 
It makes a maximum growth in Minnesota in 7 to 10 
weeks from the date of sowing, hence, by sowing rape 
at suitable intervals it will furnish pasture from early 
in June imtil the time when the ground freezes in the 
fall. Rape does not grow at its best during very hot 
weather, but even in mid-summer it will usually provide 
good grazing if sown sufficiently long beforehand to 
nearly reach its growth before the arrival of very hot 
weather. 

Mixed grains include such combinations as barley 
and oats ; barley and peas ; oats and peas or barley ; oats, 
peas and winter or spring rye. Of these, barley and 
oats are more frequently sown, and for the reason 
chiefly that the seed is usually on hand, but good results 
may be obtained by sowing only one of the mixtures 
named. The advantage from sowing a mixture over 
any single kind of grain arises from the longer period 
during which the mixed crop will furnish pasture and 
from the greater variety in the food thus provided. 

Millet is not quite so well adapted to growing pasture 
as to growing soiling food, but it may also be made to 
serve a good purpose in providing excellent pasture for 
sheep in hot weather and it may also be thus grown as a 
catch crop. 







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PASTURES FOR SHEEP 61 

The Soy bean will probably be used to a considerable 
extent in providing pasture for sheep in Minnesota in 
the not distant future, or as soon as the seed can be ob- 
tained at reasonable rates. This crop is not only much 
relished by sheep but it is also an enricher of the soil, 
and it may be grown successfully in weather so dry as 
to hinder the growth of other pasture crops. 

Cabbage furnish excellent pasture and a very large 
amount of it relatively. The only real objection to 
growing cabbage as pasture for sheep is the amount of 
labor involved in growing them. But no pasture grown 
is more suitable for them quite late in the season than 
cabbage. 

Growing Supplemental Pastures. — In growing win- 
ter rye as pasture for sheep the aim should be to sow it 
not later than September 1st and on well prepared land. 
More pasture will be obtained if the seed can be sown 
and germinated early in August. Late sown rye does 
not provide any pasture in the autumn, nor is fche 
growth sufficiently vigorous in the spring. Sow if pos- 
sible with a grain drill and at the rate of from 2 to 3 
bushels of the seed per acre. Heavy seeding is usually 
to be preferred. 

Sow corn any time that the ground can be brought 
into a suitable condition after the usual corn planting 
season has arrived and until within 7 to 8 weeks of the 
usual time for the arrival of frost. Sow with the grain 
drill when practicable, all the tubes in use, and sow at 
the rate of 1 to 2 bushels per acre according to the va- 
riety of the corn. The crop should be harrowed before 
it comes up with a light harrow and also subsequently, 







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PASTURES FOR SHEEP 63 

unless some other crop has been sown with the corn. 
The plan of sowing 2 to 3 pounds of rape seed just be- 
fore the corn is harrowed has some advantages. 

Sow Sorghum on land well pulverized and if possible 
made reasonably clean on the surface. Soil for a 
sorghum pasture may be thus prepared when it does not 
follow a crop grown previously the same season, and 
more especially when the ground has been plowed in the 
fall. There is then time enough to sprout many weeds 
on and near the surface before the sorghum is planted, 
by a free and judicious use of the harrow. Such prep- 
aration of the land is greatly important, because of the 
check which it puts on weeds and because of the mois- 
ture which it retains in the soil. Sow any time subse- 
quently to the corn planting season, but not later than, 
say, the early days of July. Use one bushel of seed 
per acre. Plant it down about 2 inches in the soil, and 
just as the first blades of the sorghum begir to appear 
harrow the ground over with a light harrow, the teeth 
of which should slant far backwards when used. 

Rape can be sown either broadcast or in drills. The 
advantages from sowing in drills are, first, ihat the land 
may be cleaned by the cultivation given, and second, 
that the plants may in consequence grow more strongly. 
But under Minnesota conditions it is more common to 
broadcast the seed and to cover it with the harrow. 
When broadcasted, about 5 pounds of seed should be 
sown per acre, and when sown in rows less than 2 
pounds will suffice. Sow the Dwarf Essex variety. 
The rows may be made from 20 to 36 inches apart, ac- 
cording to conditions, such as relate to soil and the time 



64 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

of sowing. If rape seed could be planted by a drill as 
grain is planted, the results in the soft soils of the 
prairie would certainly be beneficial. 

The practice of sowing from 1 to 2 pounds of rape 
seed per acre with small grain is becoming very common 
in Minnesota. The rape seed is usually mixed with the 
grain while it is being sown. More commonly the rape 
does no harm whatever to the grain crop, but in some 
instances, as when grain has lodged badly at an early 
period of growth, the rape has interfered with the har- 
vesting and curing of the crop. When such a result is 

feared, the sowing of the rape should be deferred until 
the grain begins to appear. The rape seed should then 
be sown and covered with the harrow. After the grain 
crop has been removed rape sown along with grain will 
make a strong growth in a normal season, but in a dry 
autumn the result may be disappointing. 

Mixed grains may be sown at any time subsequent to 
the opening of spring, but usually the earlier they are 
sown the better will be the results in providing pasture. 
It is preferable to sow them with the grain drill, using 
not less than 2^ bushels of seed per acre. It may also 
prove a good plan to sow timothy and clover at the same 
time or immediately thereafter, in sections where clover 
will stand the winter. When sown just after the sow- 
ing of the grain, the grass seeds ought to be covered 
with the harrow. But the grass thus obtained should 
not be grazed so late in the season as to hinder it from 
forming a top that will afford sufficient winter protec- 
tion, 

Millet should be sown on well-prepared land, but not 



PASTURES FOR SHEEP 65 

until warm weather has arrived ; that is to say, not un- 
til the season for cornplanting or subsequently. The 
seed may be broadcasted and covered with the harrow, 
but is better planted with the grain drill. The foxtail 
varieties, as, for instance, Hungarian and German Mil- 
let, are the most suitable. From 3 to 4 pecks of seed 
are required per acre. 

8oy beans should be planted in rows rather than sown 
broadcast. The rows should be made 24 to 36 inches 
distant, according to the conditions, and only early 
varieties, such as the Early Dwarf, should be planted. 
The planting should be deferred until after the usual 
season for planting corn. From, say 12 to 24 quarts 
of seed should be sown per acre. The ground should 
be harrowed before and after the appearance of the 
beans above ground, and it should also be cultivated 
subsequently. On good, rich and clean land the beans 
may be sown broadcast, using fully a bushel of seed per 
acre. 

Cabbage should be sown on well-prepared land any 
time after the arrival of the month of May, and from 
that time onward for, say six weeks subsequently. They 
should be grown on strong land, and the late varieties 
are to be preferred. The seed may be sown with any 
kind of drill that v/ill deposit it in rows from 30 to 36 
inches distant from one another. From 1 to 1^ pounds 
of seed per acre will prove ample. The plants should 
be carefully cultivated on the same principle that cul- 
tivation is given to mangels or turnips. When from 2 
to 4 inches high they should be thinned out with the 
hoe to the distance of 20 to 30 inches. 



66 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

Grazing Supplemental Pastures. — In grazing rye in 
the autumn very late and close pasturing will to some 
extent hinder abundant production the following 
spring. Early sown rye should, however, be grazed 
down closely for a time, and more especially when the 
early autumn weather is warm and dry, lest the crop 
should be injured by rust. In the spring the grazing 
of the rye should begin as soon as the ground is suffi- 
ciently dry. The aim should be to keep the rye eaten 
down closely, as when thus grazed it is relished better 
by the sheep. As soon as the rye reaches the earing or 
jointing stage, its power to provide good grazing is vir- 
tually gone. 

Corn should be allowed to reach the height of, say 
15 to 20 inches on the level before grazing it down. The 
sheep will break it down considerably when grazing 
upon it, but much of what is thus broken down will be 
eaten by the sheep in the partially cured form. If the 
crop is pastured at too early a stage the yield is reduced. 
If pastured too late the coarse growth in the stalk will 
be rejected by the sheep. 

In grazing sorghum the sheep may be given access to 
it as soon as the plants will not pull out by the root 
when being grazed. This means that they may be put 
upon such pasture when it is but a few inches high. 
When the quantity to be grazed is limited the sorghum 
may be allowed to reach a more advanced stage of 
growth before feeding it off, as it will continue to grow 
again and again until frost comes. Sorghum furnishes 
more pasture than corn. 

In grazing rape the author is now satisfied that more 



PASTURES FOR SHEEP 67 

food will be obtained from a given area by allowing the 
rape to complete its growth or nearly so before begin- 
ning to graze it down than if it were grazed at an earlier 
period and allowed to grow up again. There may be 
occasions, however, when the latter course should be 
adopted, and when it is the rape should not be cropped 
too closely when first eaten down. It should also be 
remembered that when rape is eaten closely when 
young, its power to grow again is greatly impaired. 
Because of this it is not a good pasture plant to sow in 
mixtures that are to be grazed down at an early stage 
of growth. Except in hot weather rape will not take 
injury if not grazed off quite soon after it has ceased 
to make further growth. In such weather, however, 
it will not long retain its wonted succulence after that 
stage has been reached. And if indications of attack 
by the white aphis manifest themselves, grazing the 
crop down should not be deferred, otherwise it will be- 
come unfit for being pastured. 

The grazing of mixed grains should begin as soon as 
they furnish plentiful supplies of food; that is to say, 
when they get a few inches high. The aim should be at 
all times to keep them from reaching the jointing stage, 
otherwise their power to grow, and also their palatabil- 
ity will be gTeatly lessened. 

Millet should be grazed as soon as the plants will not 
pull out of the ground when being pastured. As when 
pasturing small grains, the aim should be to keep it 
from jointing and for similar reasons. 

When pasturing soy beans they should probably be 
allowed to approach the mature stage before being 



68 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

grazed off, unless when the area to be grazed is very 
large. In such instances it should begin earlier lest a 
considerable proportion of the crop should be lost 
through over-maturity. More experience, however, is 
wanted in grazing this plant before the best methods of 
doing this can be known with absolute certainty. 

Before the grazing down of cahhage should begin, 
they should be allowed to attain a maximum of growth. 
They have peculiar adaptation for late fall grazing, 
since they are not easily injured by frost. 

Grass Pasture Necessary. — When grazing supple- 
mental pastures, it is advantageous to have more or less 
of grass pasture on which the sheep may graze at cer- 
tain times, as, for instance, when the supplemental 
pastures are wet and not sufficiently abundant. The 
ideal plan is to graze the sheep on the supplemental 
pastures during a portion of the day, and to have them 
remain on the grass pasture the rest of the time. But 
sheep may be kept entirely on supplemental pastures 
with the aid of cured food to feed to them as occasion 
may require, more especially when the weather is wet. 

Danger from Bloat. — In pasturing rape, as in pas- 
turing green clover, there is some danger that trouble 
may arise from hoven or bloat. This danger is much 
greater when the sheep are first turned in upon the 
rape, when it is very succulent and also when it is wet 
from rain or dew. Because of this, care should be 
taken to avoid turning sheep onto rape when they are 
hungry. They should be accustomed to it gradually. 
After a few days, however, they may be allowed to re- 
main upon it all the time. When the conditions will 



PASTURES FOR SHEEP 69 

admit of it the results from grazing sheep on rape will 
be more satisfactory when they can also have access at 
will to an old grass pasture. In the experience of the 
author no instance of bloat has ever occurred from pas- 
turing sheep on any of the other crops discussed in this 
chapter. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Fodders for Sheep. 

The term fodders is used in the sense of matured 
foods fed to sheep in the cured form, or in that form 
in which winter foods are stored away for winter feed- 
ing. These will include hay in its different varieties, 
millet, mixed grains, corn, sorghum, straw and field 
roots, although, strictly speaking, field roots are not a 
fodder. 

Requisites in Fodders for Sheep. — The chief requi- 
sites in fodders for sheep include a relatively fine 
growth, a high protein content, palatability and variety. 
Sheep will not consume so large a proportion of fod- 
ders as cattle if they are coarse, even though palatable, 
hence the aim should be in growing such fodders to 
have them fine in quality. This can be accomplished 
by growing them thickly. The high protein content 
can only be reached by growing foods that are legumin- 
ous in character, as clover and peas. This question is 
one of great importance in sheep husbandry, and it 
would also seem to be one of considerable difficulty. In 
nearly all the Mississippi basin, it is relatively easier 
to grow carbonaceous foods, as corn. Much attention 
should, therefore, be given to this phase of sheep hus- 
bandry. Palatability may be aided by cutting the 
food at an early stage of maturity ; and by curing it so 
as to preserve greenness in the fodder in a marked de- 



FODDERS FOR SHEEP' 71 

gree, and to prevent to the greatest extent possible the 
loss of leaves. Variety in the food is largely under the 
control of the grower. Much variety in the same would 
seem to have a marked influence on well doing in sheep. 

Varieties of Hay. — The chief of these are clover, al- 
falfa, timothy, native hay and Russian Brome grass 
(Bromus inermis.) 

'Ro better fodder can be obtained for sheep than 
clover in nearly all its varieties. But the medium and 
alsike varieties are superior to the mammoth, as they 
are less coarse. To have clover at its best, it must be 
cut in the early blossoming stage, raked as soon as the 
raking can be satisfactorily done and cured in the cock. 

Alfalfa requires even more care than clover when it 
is being harvested, as the leaves break off much more 
easily during the curing process. But little is known 
definitely as to the localities in which alfalfa may be 
grown in Minnesota, but it is probable that it will suc- 
ceed on good soils deeply underlaid with a somewhat 
porous clay subsoil. Even clover cannot be grown suc- 
cessfully in all parts of the state, but the area in which 
it is being grown is continually extending. 

Timothy, though much used in feeding sheep in this 
state, is not well adapted to such a use. It is too highly 
carbonaceous and is more woody than clover. If cut 
in the stage of early blossoming and properly cured, it 
possesses a far higher feeding value for sheep than if 
cut late and over-cured. When thus cured it is not 
much better than ordinary straw. 

Native hay is of several varieties. It, too, should 
be cut before the succulence in it has been lost, but the 



72 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

proper time for cutting will depend very largely upon 
the variety and the kind of land on which it has been 
grown. What is termed upland hay, is considered 
superior because of its greater fineness and palatability. 
The aim should also be in curing such hay to preserve 
its natural greenness of color. 

Russian Brome Grass (Bromus inermis) it is 
thought will prove satisfactory as a fodder for sheep. 
But as yet it has not been much used for the purpose. 
It has an abundant leaf growth, which will increase its 
palatability, but, like timothy and millet, it is essen- 
tially a carbonaceous fodder. As the seed is dear, it 
will be well at the first to purchase enough seed to sow, 
say one acre, which will call for 12 to 15 pounds. It 
should be sown like other grass seeds, with or without 
a nurse crop. The next season enough seed may be 
secured to sow many acres. 

Millet. — Millet makes a very good fodder for sheep. 
It has high adaptation to northwestern conditions, and 
can also be grown as a catch crop. These are two 
strong points in its favor. It should be cut for hay 
when fully out in head, or just when the heads on look- 
ing over the field are beginning to assume a yellow tint. 
If cut sooner the crop is lacking in weight, and also in 
nutriment. If cut late it is woody and the seed shat- 
ters. It should be cured like clover. If possible, mil- 
let should be so^vn on clean land and not earlier than 
the corn planting season. It should be planted with 
the drill like grain, or broadcasted where such planting 
is not practicable, and from 3 to 4 pecks of seed should 
be sown per acre. 



FODDERS FOR SHEEP 73 

Mixed Grains. — The question of mixed grains as fod- 
der for sheep has not been worked out as yet under Min- 
nesota conditions. It is a far-reaching question. The 
results from growing fodders thus will probably exert 
a powerful in:fluence on the future of the industry. 
The mixtures of highest promise at the present time are 
peas and oats and peas, oats and flax. The object in 
growing such mixtures is to secure, if possible, a fodder 
that will prove highly palatable, that will yield well, 
and that will be in a sense a complete ration in itself 
for a breeding flock. Such a fodder is more likely to 
be obtained from growing peas, oats and flax and cut- 
ting the crop a little tinder ripe than from any other 
mixture probably that can be grown under our condi- 
tions. In such a mixture there will be a happy blend- 
ing of the nitrogenous and carbonaceous elements and 
the flax should also tend to keep the digestion in good 
condition. There may be instances when such grains 
are being grown, in which increased fineness in the for- 
age will be obtained by grazing the crop down by sheep 
for a time in the early stages of its growth. 

In growing such a crop, the method to follow would 
in outline be as follows: — Sow^ the peas broadcast in 
the early spring, using 1^ bushels of seed per acre. 
Harrow the ground so that the peas will not all grow in 
rows between the plough furrows. Then plough to 
the depth of, say 5 inches. Just before the peas come 
up, drill in oats and flax mixed. Use, say 1 bushel of 
oats per acre and from 4 to 8 quarts of flax. The flax 
will tend to support the crop. If flax is not sown it may 
be advantageous to sow a little spring rye along with 



74 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

the oats to assist in sustaining the crop. This phase 
of growing food for sheep is yet in the experimental 
stage, but it promises much. 

Corn. — Corn will probably be much used as a fodder 
for sheep in all the future in this state. Its strong 
points are, the large yields obtained, the almost unfail- 
ing certainty with which it can be grown, and its high 
palatability. Its weakest point probably is its rela- 
tively low protein content. In growing corn as fodder 
for sheep, in the judgment of the author, the aim 
should be to grow fodder fine in character and abund- 
antly supplied with leaves rather than to grow stronger 
stalks and more corn. To produce it thus, varieties 
will have to be chosen with much leaf growth, and they 
will have to be grown more thickly than corn is usually 
grown. 

Such corn will commonly be grown in rows and cul- 
tivated to clean the land. The distance between the 
rows will usually vary from 30 to 36 inches according 
to the kind of the corn. It may be harvested accord- 
ing to the facilities for harvesting, cured in the shock, 
and stored later in stacks where it cannot be put under 
cover. On good, clean land corn fodder may be grown 
by sowing the seed as grain is sown and harvesting the 
crop with the grain binder. But, however grown, the 
harvesting should be done at an early stage of the ripen- 
ing process. 

Corn stover; that is to say, the stalks of husked corn 
may also be utilized in feeding sheep, but, owing to 
their coarse character, a greater relati/e consumption 
will be secured by running the stalks through a cutting 



FODDERS FOR SHEEP 75 

box, a threshing machine or a shredder. Of the three 
processes, the shredder renders the fodder the most pal- 
atable. Sometimes there is difficulty in keeping the 
shredded fodder in large quantities. When corn stover 
is to be fed to sheep much care should be taken to cut 
the corn at an early stage of ripening, and to keep it in 
a good state of preservation. 

Sorghum. — Sorghum makes -a fodder for sheep that 
is very palatable when properly grov^rn, and it produces 
a large relative yield per acre. It may be sown in rows 
or as grain is sown. When sown like grain it should 
be on land well cleaned on the surface as described 
when treating of growing sorghum for pasture. (See 
page 63.) N'ot less than 1 bushel of seed should be 
sown per acre. It should be grown so thickly that the 
stalks will be fine, should be allowed to grow until the 
seed is in the dough stage and should be cut with the 
binder, making it into small sheaves and putting it up 
into small shocks. For several reasons it is better to 
feed sorghum in the autumn and early winter than in 
the spring. 

Varieties of Straw. — The straw of all the cereal 
small grains may be used as fodder for sheep under 
certain conditions, but they are by no means equally 
valuable for such a use. Bye straw is lowest in feeding 
value as a fodder for sheep, and pea straw is probably 
the highest. Eye straw is woody in a marked degree. 
It is not much relished by sheep. Wheat straw has 
higher value, especially when cut promptly as soon as 
ripe. Barley straw is still more relished, and oat 
straw is probably more valuable than barley straw. The 



76 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

value of all these fodders is relatively greater as they 
are finer, more free from rust, promptly harvested 
when ripe and well preserved after being harvested. 

Pea straw is highly relished by sheep. Its feeding 
value when cut at early maturity and properly cured 
is not far behind that of clover hay. But it is easily 
injured by exposure to rain, either in the bur.ch or in 
the stack. Pea straw threshed with an ordinary thresh- 
er is also inferior to that hand-threshed. This fact 
furnishes a strong argument for growing peas thickly 
along with oats to be fed to sheep in the unthreshed 
form. 

Flax straw has not been much used heretofore in 
feeding sheep, but the experience of those who have fed 
it moderately has been favorable. Sheep are fond of 
flax straw, and its influence on digestion would seem to 
be beneficial. It is the same in kind as that which 
arises from feeding the grain, but less in degree. 
Whether injury would result from the indiscriminate 
feeding of flax straw has not yet been definitely set- 
tled. In the meantime it should be fed with prudence, 
making it only a part of the fodder given. 

Field Boots. — These include mangels, rutabagas, 
turnips, sugar beets and carrots. Mangels are proba- 
bly the surest of these crops, and they are one of the 
most easily grown. Rutabagas grow better in the more 
northerly parts of the state. Sugar beets for sheep 
may be grown on some kinds of soil in every county, 
but it takes much more labor to grow and harvest 
them than mangels or turnips. The same things may 
be said about carrots. These crops ought to be sown 



FODDERS FOR SHEEP 77 

only on rich land, and if at all practicable on land 
cleaned on and near the surface. Mangels should be 
planted in rows about 30 inches apart and thinned to, 
say 6 to 10 or 12 inches in the line of the row. The 
same may be said of rutabagas and turnips. Sugar 
beets may be closer between the rows, also nearer in 
the row, and carrots may be yet closer in both these 
respects. 

Mangels, sugar beets and carrots should be sown rea- 
sonably early, as, for instance, early in May, rutabagas 
late in May or early in June, and turnips somewhat 
later. From 4 to 8 pounds of mangel and sugar beet 
seed should be sown per acre, and about 2 pounds of 
each of the other varieties. They should be thinned 
when from 2 to 4 inches high, and should be given most 
careful cultivation. They should be harvested before 
being injured by frost and stored in a convenient place 
for winter feeding. Owing to the abundant yields 
from good soils and well cultivated, an acre or two of 
field roots will supply a breeding flock of 100 sheep 
from autumn until spring. 



CHAPTER VIL 
Shelter for Sheep. 

Shelter for sheep need not of necessity he elaborate 
or costly. Sufficient outlay will, however, he justifia- 
ble, when it can he home, to render the feeding of the 
sheep at least reasonably convenient. Sheds may be 
made of poles covered with marsh hay or straw, or baled 
straw or of lumber. Something will be submitted 
about the building of each, and also regarding tlie value 
of basement barns in sheep husbandry. 

In building shelter for sheep, the aim should be to 
secure protection from falling storms and from wind, 
without undue warmth, plenty of light and ventilation, 
storage for fovhier and grain, and facilities for feeding. 
Storage is, o-^ course, also necessary for roots and en- 
silage whcL ti.rs- are used. The arrangements for feed- 
ing breeding flocks, such as are kept upon the average 
farm, are never so satisfiK t -r;^ where the fodder used 
cannot be stored overhead. T]}p water supply should 
be within the shed where it is practicable to have it so. 

Site for Sheep Sheds. — When choosing a site for a 
sheep shed, seek ground from which there is at least a 
little downward slope in every direction, but more es- 
pecially on the side on which the yards are. Damp 
floors »in the sheds or damp yards are peculiarly harmful 
to sheep. If the place chosen has the protection of a 
grove on the windward side or of a bluff, it will bo 



SHELTER FOR SHEEP 79 

greatly advantageous. The yards for the breeding 
flock especially should be on the sunny side of the shed. 
In exposed situations some protection can be made for 
the yards by building stacks of straw on one or both 
sides of the yard, and extending up to the shed so as to 
corner on it at the end or ends of the shed. The straw 
stacks and shed will then enclose three sides of a square 
or rectangle, the space within being the yard. High 
and strongly braced board fences may be made to take 
the place of the stacks. And the shed itself may be so 
built when the flock is large as to form two or even three 
sides for the space thus enclosed. 

Sheds Made of Poles. — These can be built by plac- 
ing the poles one over the other as rails are placed in 
building a ^^straight rail" fence. The poles will be 
made to lap at the ends. These sheds, usually open on 
the sunny side, may of course be closed on that side, 
access being gained to them through a door. If the 
sheep are not allowed to drop lambs until grass is plenti- 
ful, it is not really necessary to have such sheds closed. 
Poles are also used for rafters, and the roof should have 
but one slant. In selecting the poles, the aim should 
be to secure them of durable wood and straight in kind. 
Tamarack poles are very suitable. The roof and at 
least three of the four sides should be buried in straw or 
marsh hay. 

The objection to such sheds is that they allow snow 
to drift in when they are open; they are dark when 
closed ; the food used in feeding has to be brought from 
without and in time water percolates through the roof. 
Such sheds are only recommended where the farmer 



80 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

is unable to build those more durable, bence, tbeir use is 
commonly temporary. But when flocks are small and 
wheiL lambs come late, they serve the purpose remark- 
ably well. 

Sheds Made of Straw. — These are built by laying up 
bales of straw as stones that have been sized are laid in a 
wall. The joints are broken in the alternate layers. 
When building the walls, frames for the doors and win- 
dows must be put in. In small sheds one door only may 
be necessary, and but one window. Plates of say two 
inch material and wide in proportion to the weight of 
the roof may be used in supporting the rafters. They 
can be kept from spreading where the roof is ridged by 
boards or planks spiked to them across the ends and also 
in the centre, or at intervals more frequent where neces- 
sary. The rafters may be made of straight poles or 
scantlings as desired, and the covering may be marsh 
hay, boards or shingles. Thatching would probably fur- 
nish the cheaj)est covering if the process were under- 
stood by our people. 

Such sheds may be made to provide shelter very suit- 
able for sheep. They are warm and are cheaply built, 
and yet have been erected by only a very small number 
of farmers. It may be that the outlay for roofing, sat- 
isfactory in character, has hindered their more general 
adoption. 

Sheds Built of Lumber. — Sheds built of lumber may 
of course be erected in a great many different ways to 
suit the fancy and the requirements of the builder. An 
outline of four different styles of buildings will be 
submitted. The first of these has yards only on one 



SHELTER FOR SHEEP 81 

side, and is well suited to the needs of an average 
breeding flock. The second has yards on two sides. 
The third has the special merit of furnishing very am- 
ple protection to the yard. The fourth has the same 
merits, though less in degree, and is somewhat less cost- 
ly. These are not intended to furnish actual models 
for flock-masters, but rather to suggest ideas that will 
prove helpful in the construction of any style of sheep 
shed. 

The ground plan of a shed with yards on one side 
only is submitted in Figure 14. It was prepared by 
the author for the Minnesota Farmers' Institute An- 
nual "Ro. 6 in which it is described as follows: This 
barn is 72 feet long and 24 feet wide. It is divided into 
six equal parts without including the passage across the 
whole length of one side. This passage is designed to 
afford easy access for the attendant from one division to 
another, and it also affords a ready means of remov- 
ing individual animals from one pen to another. The 
size of the respective divisions is shown in the plan. Of 
the main divisions only two are permanent, viz., those 
which separate the lambing pens from the pens next to 
them. The lambing pens should be boarded up to the 
ceiling to secure sufficient warmth, and may in addi- 
tion if necessary be covered with tarred paper. The 
three central divisions may be separated by moveable 
double feeding racks. Two of these, each 10 feet long, 
are placed in line, end to end, between each division. 
By removing these racks the building may be virtually 
converted into an open shed, since the doors are 6 to Y 
feet wide, or by removing one or more of the racks on 




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SHELTER FOR SHEEP 83 

the yard side of the building, and enclosing the open 
space at the ends of those which remain, one part of 
the building may be used as an open shed. Any divi- 
sion, thus enclosed, would answer for keeping the stock 
ram in it, separate from the ewes, and also any rams 
that may be on hand. From the small boxes under- 
neath the shutes, fodder can be readily obtained. These 
shutes are near the side of the building, and they extend 
up into the mow for some distance, hence they do not 
seriously interfere with the storing of the food over- 
head. 

The posts of the building may be of any desired 
length to suit the symmetry of the building. There 
should be room in the loft to hold, af lea^t. a season's 
supply of fodder, and if there is room for a season's sup- 
ply of litter also, it is just that much more complete. 
Grain may also be conveniently stored in the loft over 
the shepherd's room. By using hoppers or hopper 
shaped bins above, ducts leading from these, and spouts 
below, which may be opened and closed at will, a supply 
of grain can always be conveniently obtained. The 
siding may be boards with battens over the cracks, or 
may consist of ordinary drop siding with or without a 
lining of tarred or building paper inside, according to 
circumstances. When the lambing pens are properly 
made, lining may not be necessary on the inside of the 
walls, but it is very helpful in keeping the building free 
from draughts. 

It may not always be necessary to use so much space 
in the lambing pens, and when the lambs come late, 
these can be dispensed with altogether. The same is 
true of the shepherd's room. The yard may be readily 



SHELTER FOR SHEEP 85 

divided by running across it one or more movable parti- 
tions. Such a building should furnish accommodation 
in excellent form for a breeding flock of about 100 pure 
bred ewes, or for a considerably larger number of grades. 

The ground plan of a shed with yards on two sides is 
shown in Figure 15. It represents the sheep barn at 
the Minnesota University Experiment Farm. There are 
certain features about the plan that can be profitably 
utilized by the flockmaster when erecting shelter for 
sheep on a much smaller scale. 

The building was planned by the author with a viev 
to breeding and feeding sheep in an experimental way. 
It is 110 feet long and 36 feet wide. The posts are 14 
feet high. They should be 16 feet, as designed by the 
author. Figure 16 represnts a section of the frame. 
On the one side of the front end entrance is a 
silo, and on the other a wool room, which may also 
serve as a shepherd's room in winter, if desired. The 
next two apartments are lambing pens, one on either 
side. Then follow the divisions for the sheep on either 
side of the passage. It will be observed that on the 
south side there are nine of these, and on the north side 
five. The former are for breeding stocks and the latter 
for sheep that are being fattened under experiment, al- 
though these divisions may also be used if necessary 
for breeding animals, as for instance ewe or ram lambs. 
Each apartment on the south side has a window, and on 
the north side each has two. The size is 30x26 inches, 
and the windows slide up and down. Each apartment 
is also furnished with a door cut in twain in the mid- 
dle. These doors, 3 feet 6 inches across, open outward. 




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SHELTER FOR SHEEP 87 

The divisions between these compartments are all mov- 
able. The feeding racks run along the passage on 
either side of the same. An end section of these racks 
is shown in Figure lY. A door opens from the pas- 
sage into each division of the shed. The door is 2 feet 
8 inches wide, and 2 feet 10 inches high, which is 2 
inches less than the height of the lining on both sides 
of the passage. It will be observed that a double door, 
wide enough to admit a wagon opens from the outer 
wall of each compartment adjacent to the lambing pens. 
The wagon thus admitted can be driven along the one 
side or the other of the building until it reaches the 
rear end of the same, where doors of similar construc- 
tion are made. The manure may thus be removed with- 
out the necessity of first pitching it out into the yards 
through the various side-doors. While the manure is 
thus being taken out, the partitions between the various 
divisions must of course be removed. This can be eas- 
ily done, since they are movable, being held in place by 
grooves at both ends. The walls consist of drop siding 
nailed onto studs, with building paper underneath the 
siding. The floor is simply earth, except in the feed 
room, the shepherd's room and the passage. 

Water is brought in by means of pipes connected with 
the water system that supplies the buildings. In the 
absence of such a system it could, of course, be intro- 
duced through means of a well, windmill and tank. It 
is drawn from hydrants into pails or buckets as needed. 
The floor of the loft is laid close, hence no dirt or chaff 
can fall through, and so it should be when practicable 
with all sheep lofts. There are three box shutes in the 



SHELTER FOR SHEEP 89 

loft 32x32 inclies and suitably spaced. Through these 
the fodder or bedding as wanted is discharged into the 
passage. As they extend upward they slant toward one 
side, so as not to interfere with the action of the horse 
fork when in use. When the different kinds of fodder 
are suitably stored in sections in the loft, they are at 
all times accessible. 

The silo, as will be observed, is circular. It is 24 
feet high and 12 feet across. The staves are 2x3^ 
inches, and are tongued and grooved. This, however, 
is not necessary in building such silos. It is girded 
around with 15 hoops of f inch band iron 3 inches 
broad. Twelve hoops suitably spaced would probably 
prove ample. The bottom hoop is just above the floor, 
and the distance between the hoops increases somewhat 
as they extend upward. Hinged doors open into a shute 
extending upward on the side next to the feed room, 
but these would better serve the purpose if they were 
not hinged, but rather fitted in from the inside, the 
edges being beveled. The size suitable for a box shute 
is 24x32 inches, and it should have a ladder within 
attached to one side. The doors may be 24 inches long 
and 18 inches broad. The floor consists of two thick- 
nesses of bricks laid in cement. Those who may wish 
more definite information on the whole question of silos 
can obtain the same in the book, "Soiling Crops and the 
Silo," written by the author and published recently. 

The root cellar is 16 feet in diameter. Its location 
and form will be readily apparent from the plan. The 
wall is bricks laid in mortar. In no part does the wall 
come nearer on the inside than 3 feet 8 inches from the 







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gHE]LTER FOR SHEEP ^1 

outer walls of the building, that frost may be more eas- 
ily excluded. The window spaces which are also used 
as shutes have triple thickness of glass, in the form 
of a double window without and a single one within. 
The floor overhead is ceiled first with shiplap, second 
with two thicknesses of tarred paper, third with furring 
to make an air-space, and fourth with shiplap. The door 
which opens at the head of the stair has also two thick- 
nesses of boards with tarred paper and air space. 

The yards extend out 18 feet from the building on 
either side, and they are separated from one another by 
.rnovable divisions, which extend from the shed to the 
fence of the adjoining paddock. The barn itself is 
shown in Figure 18. 

The ground plan of a shed nearly enclosing three sides 
of a square or rectangle is shown in Figure 19. The 
buildings at the corners are for the storage of fodder 
and grain, and may be any dimensions necessary. The 
greater the height the greater, of course, will be the ca- 
pacity for storage. The intervening shed and those at 
the wings are open. The buildings at the corners as 
shown in the engraving, are 24x24 feet and the posts are 
18 feet high. The two long sheds are 16x80 feet, and 
the short one is 16x40 feet. The roof of the low cheds 
may be given only one slant, but is perhaps better with 
two, and the height of the same at the rear plate does not 
require to be more than 7 to 8 feet. The location of the 
lambing pen and root cellar are shown in the engraving. 
The feeding racks are placed along the front of the 
sheds, but they may be placed toward the rear or as de- 
sired. The hay shutes come down into enclosures 





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SHELTER FOR SHEEP 93 

shown at A. The feed bin, 10x12 feet, is shown in t t. 
sketch and to the rear of it is the stairway leading to 
the root cellar. The loft over the lambing pen and f^ed 
room have a tight floor. The sheds may be dividtd by 
movable divisions or fences. The yards may also be 
readily changed to suit changed conditions when they 
are enclosed by movable fences. All details of manage- 
ment, however, may be made to suit the necessities of 
the situation. This plan of building sheds would seem 
admirably adapted to the requirements where largo 
flocks are kept. Figure 20, Section A, represents a 
side view of a shed for a good-sized farm flock, with stor- 
age for fodder overhead, also a ground plan of the same, 
section B, with sheds attached. The main building is 
72 feet long and 16 feet wide, and each of the side sheds 
is 30x16 feet. The form of roof for the side sheds is 
brought out in Section A, and the same form of roof 
may be used in the low shedg in Figure 19. The height 
of the main barn, the internal arrangement of the same, 
and the divisions in the yards may be made as desired. 
These sheds do not require to be higher than those de- 
scribed in Figure 19. The chief merits of this barn are 
its capacity in proportion to cost and the protection 
which it afl^ords. 




FIG. 20. Plan of Sheep Shed for a Good Sized Flock. 



CHAPTER VIIL 
Fencing: for Sheep. 

More or less of fencing is indispensable to tlie suc- 
cessful management of sheep except under range condi- 
tions. At certain seasons of the year, sheep are capable 
of doing an immense amount of damage and of making 
no end of trouble unless properly restrained by fences. 

Amount of Fencing Required. — The amount of fenc- 
ing required will vary with the kind or class of sheep 
kept. A pure-bred flock calls for more divisions in 
both fields and sheds than a flock of grades, where .the 
former is to be kept i'n excellent form. More divisions 
are also required when the sheep are kept much on green 
forage other than grasses, but in the aggregate such a 
system will probably call for less fencing than where 
the sheep are pastured alone on grass. It may be pos- 
sible to keep sheep within a single enclosure all the graz- 
ing season, providing it is large enough ; but under Min- 
nesota conditions such a system is not to be commended. 
They can, however, be kept within two enclosures for a 
limited term of years, providing pasture other than 
grasses is grown within one of these, and that more or 
less of movable fencing is used within the same. 

If sheep are to be kept under suitable conditions on 
an arable farm, it ought to be fenced in. Such a system 
may appear costh^ at first thought, but the entire cost 
will soon be more than me^ by the greater relative pro- 



96 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

diictiveness of the farm because of the presence of the 
sheep. Usually the fencing should be gradually ex- 
tended as the needs of the increasing flock call for the 
same. The cost is then felt less by the farmer, since he 
can erect such fences by ordinary help of the farm and 
at seasons of the year when labor is not pressing. 

Fences Made of Wood. — In the park and forest re- 
gions the old snake fence made of poles or rails may be 
in order, but such a fence is only admissible when tim- 
ber is abundant and cheap, because of the amount of the 
same required in such a fence. Where tamarack poles 
are plentiful a good fence may be made by planting 
posts 12 to 15 feet apart and wiring a stake to the post 
near the top and bottom of the stake. The space be- 
tween the post and the stake should be sufficient to re- 
ceive the ends of the poles which overlap them. This is 
frequently denominated the straight rail fence. There 
may also be localities where lumber is cheap in which 
board fences permanent in character may be built, but 
in fully two-thirds of the states, fences made of wood 
are entirely out of the question, because of the expense 
involved in the material required. 

Fences Made of Wire. — Beyond all question wire 
is likely to be the material chiefly used in building 
fences to be used in sheep husbandry. The various 
forms of wire fencing are numerous. They include 
smooth wire, barbed wire, and woven or netted wire. 

Smooth wire fencing when made by simply stringing 
the wires on the posts, is not suitable for sheep. They 
soon learn to push the head through between the wires 
and the habit of going through the opening thus made 



FENCING FOR SHEEP 97 

is soon learned. But if the wires are held in place by 
weaving wires up and down at suitable intervals the 
sheep cannot then get through. In the judgment of the 
author this style of fence answers the purpose as well 
as any other and it can be cheaply built, since the 
only outlay to the farmer is the cost of the posts, the 
wire^ the staples and a small outlay for the machine 
used in weaving the stays. In constructing such a 
fence, any size of wire may be used that is strong 
enough, and the space between the wires may be varied 
as desired, and many or few stays may be woven as may 
be thought best. Two strands of twisted wire are some- 
times used in preference to single strands. What is 
known as 'No. 12 is very suitable. 

Barbed wire has been much used in providing fencing 
for sheep in the past. It furnishes a cheap fence, but 
one that is not very satisfactory. The wires tear off 
more or less of the wool, and unless they are closely 
spaced the sheep are prone to form the habit of pushing 
through them, especially if the grazing is short. In do- 
ing so they injure themselves more or less. 

Woven wire in several of the forms now in the mar- 
ket makes a very suitable fence for sheep. About the 
only serious objection to it probably is the cost. When 
used in combination with certain other forms of wire, 
the cost may be reduced, that is to say when making the 
fence the lower part may consist of woven wire and the 
upper part of barbed wire. The woven wire need not 
necessarily extend more than 24 to 30 inches upward. 
The number of barbed wires to stretch above this will 



98 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

depend upon conditions, but seldom more than two or 
three will be required. 

The Woven PicJcet fence has features that are corr; 
mendable. It is effective and durable when the pickets 
which are interwoven by the wires are of some strong 
and lasting wood, as. oak, and relatively it is not very 
costly. But it usually sags more or less between the 
posts, and in time diverges from the perpendicular, 
hence it becomes unattractive if not positively unsigVtly. 

Posts for Fencing. — The best available materials for 
posts in our state are cedar, oak and tamarack. These 
are lasting probably in the order named. European 
larch would probably grow in some sections of the state, 
but it does not appear to have been much tried. The 
posts in our state are cedar, oak and tamarack. The 
split posts from large trees last considerably longer than 
round posts composed largely of wood of recent growth. 
The growing of posts for fencing will call for attention 
in the not distant future, since the available supplies are 
rapidly being cut away. 

The practice of charring posts before setting them 
and also of dipping them in boiling coal tar has been 
recommended, to hinder decay. That part only is thus 
treated between the base of the post and a short distance 
above the surface of the ground. But as yet it does not 
seem to have been conclusively demonstrated that the 
benefit resulting will pay for the treatment thus given. 

Ei^ecting Fences. — When building straight rail, board 
or wire fences on th ^ arable farm, what is termed the 
bed of the fenc ^ /. • - first receive attention. In con- 
structing the same, tA.-o furrows should be thrown to- 



FENCING FOR SHEEP 99 

gether as liigh as the plough will raise them. The next 
two furrows should be not so high, and if two others are 
ploughed they should be made still lower. The ridge 
thus formed will be highest in the centre. This ridge 
should be smoothed off nicely, so that a mower knife 
may be run alongside of it to cut off the weeds if neces- 
sary. It should also be seeded to grass to prevent wash- 
ing, and to keep weeds from growing. If an abrupt 
ridge is wanted, the land may be ploughed twice, turn- 
ing it in both instances to the centre. 

The posts will be set or driven according to the na- 
ture of the ground. When driven they must of course 
be first pointed. When set, a post auger will make the 
holes speedily unless in hard oi gravelly ground. Much 
labor is usually saved by set.ing or driving the posts, 
when both soil and subsoil are moist. The standard 
depth for setting posts is about three feet, but in build- 
ing wire fences the corner posts should be set more 
deeply and should be sufficiently braced to keep the wire 
from drawing the posts away from the perpendicular. 
In wire fences the distance between the posts varies 
much with the kind of wire used, but they are usually 
placed from one to two rods apart. When smooth or 
barbed wire is used, the distance between the posts may 
be considerably more when a small upright is driven 
midway between the posts, or is made to rest on the 
ground. To this upright the wires are fastened with 
staples. 

The number of wires wanted will depend on the 
character of the sheep, of the wire, and on the number 
of the upright wires woven into those that run horizon- 



100 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

tally. Smooth wire calls for a larger number of \vjres 
than barbed wire. The nearer the upright strands are 
woven to one another, the less the number of the wires 
wanted. Sheep that are plentifully supplied with food 
and that have not previously learned the habit of push- 
ing through between wires, have frequently been re- 
strained by foitr barbed wires, but usually six or seven 
are required. Six barbed wires strung at the distance 
of 3, 7, 12, 17, 23 and 30 inches, respectively, from 
the ground, should confine sheep when the fence stands 
on the centre of a raised bed. But if the fence is to be 
practically dog and wolf proof, two more wires should 
be added and placed say 38 and 48 inches, respectively, 
from the ground. When wires are smooth and bound 
with upright stays or strands, the distance between the 
wires may be similar, but the top wire and perhaps the 
next one also should be barbed. 

Strips of netted or woven wire 24 to 30 inches wide 
when strung along posts in the centre of a raised ridge 
should suffice to confine sheep, but to render the same 
dog proof, two barbed wires should be used as described. 
When wire fences are used for any purpose, due atten- 
tion should be given to the loosening and tightening of 
the wires. But few objects on the farm are more un- 
sightly than a neglected wire fence. 

Movable Fences. — When forage crops other than 
grasses are grown for sheep, a certain amount of mov- 
able fencing will usually be foimd a great convenience, 
especially when the pastures are long and narrow in 
shape. While several kinds of movable fences have 
been used, all of which have more or less of merit, but 



FENCING FOR SHEEP 101 

two will be noticed here ; one of these is made of boards, 
the other is wire. 

The movable hoard fence is made up in panels, and 
for each panel there is a head piece. Any material will 
answer that is light and durable and that does not warp 
readily. White pine is very suitable. Each panel, as 
shown in A Figure 21, is composed of three boards 
4x1 inches, and a fourth one at the bottom 6x1 inches. 
The panel when complete is 12 feet long and 3 feet 
2 inches high. Three slats 4x1 inches are nailed per- 
pendicularly across these horizontal boards. The end 
slats are nailed on the same side of the panel and si.^j: 
inches from the ends of the boards. The centre slat is 
nailed on the opposite side. The bottom space is 
inches, the middle one 6J inches, and the top one 7f 
inches. The second board from the top is cut off flush 
with the outside end of the cross bars. 

The headpiece C in Figure 21 consists of three pieces 
nailed together so as to form a triangle. The bottom 
piece 6xlJ inches is 3 feet 6 inches long on the ground 
side. The tAvo upright pieces are 4xlJ inches, and are 
4 feet long. One is nailed on each side of the sole 
piece, and they cross each other at about 6 inches from 
the ends. The notches cut above and below as shown 
in the drawing are 3 inches deep and 2 inches wide. 
When in place the corresponding slats of the panels rest 
side by side in these notches. Wrought or wire nails 
are used, 3-i inches long and they should be well 
clinched. Longer nails are required for the headpiece. 
When in place it is frequently necessary to stake 
down the fence to prevent heavy winds from blowing it 





(» 






FENCING FOR SHEEP 103 

over. This is done by driving a small stake down into 
the ground a short distance in from the end of the sole 
piece, and then driving a nail, left nnclinched, through 
the stake and the sole of the head piece. The stakes 
may be conveniently made of pieces of inch pine boards 
about 2 feet long. They are of course sharpened at one 
end and should be driven at intervals as may be found 
necessary on the windward side of the fence. When 
driven alternately on the two sides of the fence it is 
more secure against shifting winds. The stakes may be 
used again and again. If the panels are carefully 
handled and neatly piled up under shelter or in a dry 
place when not in use, they will last for many years. 

Another and stronger make of headpiece is shown in 
B Figure 21. It was designed by Mr. W. C. Palmer, 
a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota. 
It consists of two cross pieces, AA and D. Tlie bot- 
tom one is 6x1 inches and 3-J feet long, and is notched 
at X. The notch is 2^ inches deep and fully 2 iiiclic-s 
wide. The cross piece D is 4x1 inches and 1 o- feet 
long. Its lower edge is 2^ feet up from the bottom of 
the sole piece. Two uprights BB 4x1 inches a:ul 31- 
feet long are nailed onto the cross pieces witli a space 
of fully two inches between them, that in it the c.kIs of 
the boards in* two panels of hurdles may overlap for a 
short distance. When in place two side braces CC, 
also 4x1 inches, 3 J feet long, and bevelled at the njvpcr 
end, are then nailed as sho^vn in the diagram. Tlic up- 
rights are all nailed on the same side of the cross pieces. 
The panels for this form of header are made the same as 
for that first described, except that the second board 



104 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

from the top is left the same length as the other boards. 
This form of header is considerably more durable, but 
it calls for more material than the other. 

The movable wire fence should be not less than 30 
inches high. It should consist of netting and is more 
conveniently moved if made in strips of suitable length-?. 
These are fastened to stakes that will stand driving well. 
When moving the fence, each piece is rolled up. The 
wire is rolled around the stakes. 



CHAPTER IX, 
Management of Lambs* 

If the flock is ever to become a model of excellence, 
every care must be taken with the lambs. Failure in 
managing the lambs properly will mean failure in the 
work. The measure of success therefore in growing the 
lambs is really the measure of success that will be at- 
tained in the management of the flock. 

The Lambing Season. — The best time to have the 
lambs come will depend, first, on the kind of sheep kept ; 
second, on the object of the grower in rearing them ; and 
third, on the facilities for taking care of them. Winter 
lambs, that is to say, milk lambs sold in the winter or 
early spring, must of course come in the autumn or in 
the early part of the winter. Pure-breds as a rule 
should come early, as, if the rams are to be sold the fol- 
lowing autumn for breeding, they do not attain sufficient 
size to meet the requirements of purchasers unless drop- 
ped early. It has also been noticed that early lambs, 
like early calves, ultimately attain a greater maximum 
of development when averages are taken. This is prob- 
ably owing in part to their more advanced development 
when they enter upon the first winter. If the lambs are 
to be sold for meat in the early spring months or in the 
summer season, they should also come early to attain 
sufficient size for being thus marketed. If they are to 
be fattened in the fields on rape and kindred foods in 



106 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

the autumn and sent directly to the market, they should 
also come early. But if they are to be fattened the fol- 
lowing winter, it would probably be wiser to have them 
come after the sheep have been put permanently on pas- 
ture ; otherwise, they will probably be too heavy to suit 
the markets of toda}^ When no lambing shed has been 
provided, the lambing season should not be earlier than 
the arrival cf pleasant vreather. Winter lambs should 
come, sny, from October onward; lambs for breeding 
frciii February o:v»vard; lambs for spring, summer and 
aiilu:i]ii sale, say from ^.larch onward; and lambs for 
winter feeding, during the month of May. 

'J'lic mortality in young lambs will not be much great- 
er when born in v/inter than in spring, providing first, 
that a good lambir.g shed is at hand, and second, that 
llicy arc given dnc care. The special care always re- 
quired at the lambing season can also be given at a less 
sacrifice in llic winter and spring months than after the 
season of tillage begins. The least proj)itious time 
probably for lambs to come is during the in^-ji-mediate 
period when the sheep are first turned out to the pas- 
tures. Vavt of the time they will be out and part of the 
time inside. The weather at such a time is usually 
more cr less unpropitious. Young lambs dropped dur- 
ing the day are sometimes liable to get chilled, and 
thei-e is trouble in bringing them to the sheds. The aim 
should be, therefore, to have them come before the turn- 
ing cut season or after the same has arrived. 

Caix of Lamhs Newly Born. — In pure-bred flocks and 
e\en in grades that are numbered, the owner should 
know just when each may be expected to have lambs. 



MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS 107 

Two or three days previous to the birth of the progeny, 
the prospective mother should be put into an apartment 
of the lambing pen. The danger is thus to some extent 
averted of having the lambs chilled, as they are much 
liable to be when dropped in the night in a cold shed. 
If the ewes are really healthy and vigorous there is not 
much daiiger that lambs will perish even in cold weather 
when born in a well made lambing apartment of the 
shed. But Vvdien a ewe has twins, she frequently gives 
attention to but one lamb, hence the other may perish. 
The plan therefore is a good one on the part of the shep- 
herd or farmer to visit llio lambing pens once in the 
night. In this climate such visits mny call for the 
exercise of much resolution, but in a large dock tli?y 
will probably save mauy a lamb. The attendant slioril I 
prepare himself for such work by provitliiig an alarm 
clock and making due provision against endangering his 
own health. 

AVhcn all goes well at the time of parturition, the loss 
interference on the part of the attendant the better, bnt 
if a lamb is born Avcak and unable to fight its own bat- 
tle, the attendant should try and help it with a j^rudont 
haste to some of the milk of the dam. If a young lamb 
is found chilled it should be submerged, except the head, 
in warm Avater, and in a warm place. Judicious and 
continued rubbing should follow, first wiili a cloth and 
later with the hand, until the lamb revives. It should 
then be helped to a little of the milk of the OrMu, and 
many little things Avill be practised by the experienced 
shepherd which cannot be mention.ed here. 'J'hese are 
such as relate to giving the ewes a warm drink scon after 



108 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

the birth of the lamb, assisting weak lambs to survive 
and thus to get their share of the milk in the case of 
twins, and in providing milk when necessary from an- 
other source than the dam. 

When the dams fail to furnish a sufficient supply of 
milk, it may be supplemented with cow's milk. When 
so supplemented, the milk should be given to young 
lambs frequently, as warm as blood heat, and at first 
only a little at a time. It should not be diluted, and 
for lambs quite young it may prove advantageous to add 
a little sugar at first. As the lambs grow older, the 
plan of calling to the rescue the aid of a gentle cow with 
small. teats is a good one. Two persons will succeed 
better than one, the first to manage the cow and the sec- 
ond to bring the weak lambs to help themselves. When 
thus allowed to get a feast tw^ice a day, or even once a 
day, weak lambs soon become strong. This practice h 
strongly recommended and is also practised by that sen- 
sible and safe authority on sheep, the Hon. M. F. Greely, 
of Gary, S. D. 

If a ewe should lose her only lamb, she may some- 
times be induced to take another of nearly similar age. 
She will own the lamb thus given to her more readily 
if the skin of the dead lamb or a portion of it is tied 
over the body of the living one. Some ewes will also 
refuse to own their lambs, or, they may refuse to own 
one in the case of twins. In such instances if they can 
be placed in a stanchion and held so that the lambs can 
nurse frequently, they will sometimes become strong 
enough to help themselves without aid, and thus by mere 
persistence force the refractory dam into submission. 



MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS 109 

Usually ewes will not disown their lambs if they have 
plenty of milk for them, and if the lambs do not get 
away from their notice soon after birth. They are 
more prone to disown them when they are so reduced in 
flesh that they can furnish them but little milk. 

Lambsj when strong, may be removed from the lamb- 
ing pen in two or three days after birth and placed 
along with others previously removed. In large flocks 
it is an advantage to be able to grade the ewes in the 
feeding pens with their lambs, as both ewes and lambs 
may then be fed more in accordance with their precise 
needs. 

Feeding Young Lambs. — Young lambs should, if pos- 
sible, be given food apart from the ewes, but this may 
not be necessary after the ewes have been turned out to 
pasture. This may be accomplished by having what is 
termed a "lamb creep" in conjunction with the enclosure 
in which the dams are fed. The lamb creep is simply 
a division of the feeding place of the dams, but inac- 
cessible to them, and in which food is placed for the 
lambs. The lambs get access to it through one or more 
openings between boards or strips nailed up and down, 
and through which the ewes may not pass. Such creeps 
may be movable and so made that they may be let down 
in the corner of a pen. 

In the little racks or mangers within these creeps 
some fine Avell cured fodder should be placed. If pos- 
sible they should be given finely sliced roots. They 
will learn to eat both when only a few days old. The 
younger ones learn all the sooner from being with those 
a little older. And they will learn to eat meal, as 



iiO ^HEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

ground or crushed oats, bran and oilcake, even sooner 
than they learn to eat hay. As they get older it is not 
necessary to grind the grain, and various mixtures of 
grain may be used providing that a fair amount of pro- 
tein is fed in the same. Tlie lambs should get about all 
they will eat of such foods until they are turned onto 
pasture, and when they are to be sold early it may be 
well to feed them thus within a creep in a pasture, as 
more gain is obtained from feeding grain directly to 
lambs than by feeding it to them indirectly as when it is 
fed to the ewes. When the lambs are to be reared for 
breeding, or when they are to be fattened in the autumn 
or winter subsequently, it is seldom necessary to feed 
them grain when the f)astures are abundant. Field 
roots finely sliced will soon be taken v/ith eagerness by 
young lambs when they can have access to them, and 
loots are most excellent for promoting growth. 

Docking and Castrating. — Lambs should be docked 
when only a few days old. But when they are to be 
sent to the block in the spring or early summer, it is not 
necessary to dock or castrate them. Docking is fre- 
quently done by one person holding the lamb on its feet 
and a second person taking the end of the tail in one 
hand and removing the same with one cut of a sharp 
knife. 

This method may answer well enough for lambs that 
are to be sold for meat, but more care should be taken 
when docking lambs that are to be kept for breeding. 
The following method is a neat way of doing the work : 
One person places the lamb with its buttock on a smootli 
block of wood. The back of the lamb is toward him and 



Management of lambs ill 

the four feet are iielcl in one hand. He then draws the 
skin of the tail toward the junction of the same with the 
body. A second person with a sharp chisel and a mallet 
severs the tail with one blow between one and two inches 
from the body and preferably at a joint. The loose 
skin then draws down partially over the wound and 
heals over smoothly. There are shears which are also 
used in docking. Care should be taken when the bleed- 
ing does not soon stop to sear the wound with a hot iron, 
otherwise even young lambs may bleed to death. 

Lambs should be castrated when quite young, under 
rather than over three weeks. There is always a slight 
element of danger in castrating old lambs, and even 
though there should not be any loss from death, the loss 
from the check given to growth is always considerable. 
When lambs are castrated early, they grow better, make 
better meat, and consequently sell for more money and 
are more easily managed on the farm. 

When castrated young there is no more satisfactory 
method of doing the work than the following, notwith- 
standing that to some there may be a repugnant ele- 
ment in it : One person gathers the legs of the lamb in 
one hand, and presses the back of the same against his 
breast. A second person siezes the skin enclosing the 
purse and gently draws on it, and with a sharp knife 
cuts off a part of the same so that the testicles become 
visible. He then places the thumb and fore-finger of 
his left hand close to the body of the lamb and forces 
the testicles forward. He next seizes them, one at a 
time, with his teeth, and gently draws them out casings 
and all. While doing so, the thumb and forefinger are 



112 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

pressed moderately tightly together, and are kept close 
to the body of the lamb. Forceps or pincers may be 
used instead of the teeth. When the testicles are drawn 
out, draw slightly on the scrotum and the operation is 
done. It is well to choose a moderately cool day and 
to perform the operation in the morning rather than the 
evening. 

In castrating lambs that are older, the person who 
holds them can do so with more comfort if on his knees, 
drawing the back of the lamb at the same time close 
against his body. A considerable portion of the scro- 
tum is then removed with one free stroke of the knife. 
The testicle is then pressed out until the casing around 
it can be cut open. Above the testicle the cord appears 
as though composed of two portions, one of which is 
largely made up of blood vessels. The other portion is 
first severed and the rest of the cord freed. The testicle 
can then be drawn out a little further and the other por- 
tion of the cord is then cut. With large lambs and old 
rams this portion of the cord should be scraped off rather 
than cut to prevent bleeding. The other testicle is of 
course similarly removed. The tendency to stiffness 
will be lessened by having the animals take exercise 
voluntarily, or if necessary, enforced. Much swelling 
is evidence of the closing of the wound, and when ob- 
served the wound should be opened by pushing a clean 
finger gently into the opening and well up into the same. 

Weaning Lambs. — Lambs should be weaned at the 
age of 4 to 5 months. When taken from the dams they 
should if possible be given good, fresh tender and juicy 
pasture. It may consist of such plants as blue grass. 



MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS 113 

second growth clover, winter rye and barley or rape. 
The last named pasture is the most valuable. As it is 
important that lambs should have such food as soon as 
they are weaned, provision should be made for this in 
planning for the food that shall be grown for the season. 

The lambs should also have grain added as soon as 
they are weaned, but this is not so necessary when 
abundant rape pastures are on hand. This food may 
consist of oats and bran, barley and bran or the three 
combined. Oats alone will serve a good purpose. 
When lambs have been used to grain in the spring, they 
will at once take to the same when it is placed before 
them after they are weaned. But when they have not 
yet learned to eat grain they may take but little at first. 
It may be given to them in sheds or in troughs in the 
fields as convenient. The troughs may be made simply 
by nailing two boards about 6 to 8 inches broad together 
in the form of a V, and by supporting the same on short 
legs. A narrow strip resting on edge on the ground and 
nailed to the legs will prevent the trough from being 
overturned. Unless when the lambs are to be pushed 
for some specific purpose, one pound of grain per day 
per lamb will be ample to feed. A less amount will 
frequently suffice. 

The ram and ewe lambs should be separated at the 
weaning season, and it may be necessary also to further 
sub-divide them, as for instance by separating breeding 
lambs from those that are to be prepared for the block. 



CHAPTER X. 
Managfement of Ewes. 

The treatment suitable for lambs up to the weaniug 
period has been given in Chapter IX. Then it is thac 
the selections for breeding ought to be made. At that 
time the lambs will be sufficiently developed to render 
it possible to make selections without the hazard of mis- 
take. 

Selecting Breeding Ewes. — In making selections for 
breeding the best specimens should invariably be chosen. 
The owner should never allow himself to be tempted to 
sell the best of his ewe lambs to be sent to the block be- 
fore or after the weaning period, even though they are 
only grades, otherwise he will never reach that high level 
of attainment that ought to be the aim of every breeder. 
The leading indications as to form have already been 
given in Chapter IV. To what has been said there the 
caution will be added, to guard against making size only 
the chief ground on which selection is based. Although 
good size is greatly important. Femininity and sym- 
metry of form are among the more important consider- 
ations in selecting ewe lambs for breeding. 

Management Until the Mating Season. — As a rule 
the ewe lambs selected for breeding should be separated 
from the lambs that are to be fattened as soon as 
weaned, as the former do not require so stimulating a 
diet as the latter, but there may be conditions when all 



MANAGEMENT OF EWES 115 

may run together as when feeding on rape or other 
nourishing pastures. Until they are bred the aim 
should be to feed food that will produce growth rather 
than fatness. The first winter the ewe lambs may run 
with the breeding flock up to the lambing season w^hen 
the flock is small, but when it is large they will do bet- 
ter with a separate apartment. When so separated the 
fodder should consist of that variety so helpful to well 
doing in sheep, and which has been dwelt upon in 
Chapter VI. It may be necessary to give a light grain 
ration, as, for instance, oats and bran, but the fodders 
being suitable, from -| pound per day to 1 pound shoidd 
be ample. The amount of grain to be fed should, how- 
ever, be guaged by the condition of the sheep. The 
grain ration should cease when the young ewes are 
turned out to pasture. They should be given food suf- 
ficiently succulent to prevent constipation. Eoots may 
be fed freely to young ewes and with excellent results, 
as they are very helpful in promoting growth and also 
in regidating digestion. 

Age at Which to Breed. — Usually young ewes should 
not be bred until they are about 19 months old. To 
breed them as lambs will tend so to hinder growth that 
where such a practice is adopted it will not be possible 
to maintain normal size in the flock. ^^sTor will they 
sustain their lambs as well as ewes that are older. Loss 
of stamina will also follow to some extent and the wool 
yield will be lessened. But when young ewes with 
their progeny are to be sold as meat the following sea- 
son, it may be admissible to breed them as lambs. 

Mating Ewes. — The mating season will, of course, 



116 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

depend upon the object in rearing the lambs. As the 
period of g'estation covers 21 weeks, the mating will 
usually begin not sooner than September and will end 
with the close of the year. 

When the lambs are taken away from the dams, the 
latter are usually somewhat thin in flesh. For a few 
days after the removal of the lambs they should be kept 
on a diet low and dry. Two or three times within the 
next week or ten days the udders that give indications 
of distension should be examined and partially milked 
out to prevent permanent injury to the udders. The 
ewes should then be put upon a generous diet to enable 
them to recuperate before being mated. If the pastures 
are good it will not be necessary to add grain to the 
food which the pastures provide, as the ewes have from 
two to three months in which to regain lost flesh. For 
building up ewes at such a season no pasture is superior 
to rape, nor is any probably equal to it. 

If when the mating season arrives the ewes can be 
bred within a reasonably short period, the labor at the 
lambing season will be lessened, and the lambs will be 
more uniform in age and consequently in size. The 
disadvantages from having the lambing season extend 
over a long period are many. It makes the feeding of 
the flock more difficult and also interferes with the 
weaning of the lambs. The mating of the ewes may 
be hastened by putting them on a stimulating diet. This 
can be done by feeding them grain for a few weeks pre- 
vious to the mating season, by putting them on nutri- 
tious pastures, or what is sometimes better, combining 
both methods. Barley and wheat unground are among 



MANAGEMENT OF EWES 117 

the more suitable grains to feed, but oats will answer. 
One pound or a little more than that will be fed per 
day. The most suitable pasture is rape. If the rape 
is well grown additional grain food may not be neces- 
sary. The impulse thus given to the system by build- 
ing it up quickly is shared in by the procreative powers, 
consequently the time of breeding is thus hastened. 

Going Into Winter Quarters. — When the manage- 
ment is proper, the ewes will be in fair condition when 
they go into the sheds. They should be given access to 
the pastures until snow covers the ground, even though 
the latter should be bare. The exercise is good for 
them. But it is frequently necessary to add supple- 
mental food to the pastures before the latter are covered. 

A sudden change from a diet more or less succulent 
to a dry diet is to be guarded against. As pasture is 
usually more or less succulent in the late autumn when 
the change is made to dry food, the aim should be to 
give the CAves a small supplement of such food, as bran 
or field roots. In the absence of such food the bowels 
are much prone to become more or less constipated. 
This disarrangement of the digestion is probably the 
origin of more of the troubles that afflict sheep in the 
winter than all other causes combined. The aim of the 
feeder, therefore, should be to provide a sufficient quan- 
tity of such foods as tend to regulate digestion, to carry 
the flock through the winter. These foods include 
bran, oilcake, ground flax, field roots and ensilage. Of 
these bran and field roots are probably the most valua- 
ble. 

Grading the Flock. — When the dams go into winter 



118 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

quarters it will not be necessary to grade them; that is, 
to snbdivide them Avhen the flock is small and when all 
are vigorous. J3ut when the flock is large; that is to 
say, composed of more than a Imndred, the results ob- 
tained from a breeding flock will be more satisfactory 
if it can be graded according to the age and vigor of the 
ewes. Variations may then be made in the food ffiven 
as mny be desired, except, however, with flocks that are 
of more tlian ordinary value, this would seldom be nec- 
essary. 

Food Previous io Lamhlng. — The aim should be to 
keep the ewes in a good condition of thrift previous to 
the lambing period v/ithout overloading tlicm with fat. 
The diet shoidd contain a hirgc proportion of nitrogen- 
ous elements, otherwise the young landjs will not be well 
developed. It is also indispensable that there be factors 
in it that will prevent constipation. Good, fine corn 
fodder Vv'ill serve a good purpose once, a day, and the 
same is probably true of sorghum, but experience in 
feeding food so sweet to breeding ewes for a lengthened 
period is too limited to speak confidently in regard to 
it. TliG other fodders should consist of sucli foods as 
native hay, millet, a mixture of clover and timothy, 
and best of all clover and alfalfa. Quite frequently 
straw may be fed morning or evening, and what is un- 
eaten strewn around for bedding before the sheep are 
again fed. Corn straw only, along with the straw of 
small grains, is too lacking in protein, hence, if the 
ewes must be confined to such fodder, the lack of pro- 
tein should be made up in the grain fed. With good 



MANAGEMENT OP EWES 119 

clover or alfalfa, a breeding flock will want but little 
else, so well balanced are those foods. 

Corn or sorgbnni when given in the uncnt form may 
be fed upon the ground while the latter remains frozen. 
It may be advantageous to feed it in an enclosure just 
outside the small yards in connection with the sheds, 
that there may be room to scatter it widely. TIig other 
fodders should be fed in racks. In any event the yards 
attached to the sheds should be amply littered with 
straw, and more especially in damp weather, to pro\lde 
a comfortable resting place for the sheep. The feeding 
racks should be cleaned out every day, and what is bet- 
ter, after each feed. Usually the grain portion should 
be very moderate before the lambing season, seldom 
exceeding one pound per head per day. A mixture of 
oats and bran, with a trace of oilcake or flax meal in if, 
cannot well be improved upon. Wlien roots are fed, 
oats alone will suffice. Barley, duly admixed with 
bran, is good. Corn should be fed sparingly, it is so 
carbonaceous, but more of it may be fed in cold weather. 
Field roots are also excellent, but should not be fed at 
the rate of more than, say 2 to 4 pounds a day to breed- 
ing ewes on a balanced ration, lest the lambs shall be 
over-developed in muscle and lacking in bone. But 
when ewes are almost wholly confined to a fodder com- 
plement of corn, timothy hay or native hay, then field 
roots may be fed with much freedom except in extreme- 
ly cold weather. Roots should be given, sliced or 
pulped. Screenings of various kinds of grain are also 
more or less excellent according to the variety, but the 
exceedingly variable character of screenings should not 



120 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

be lost sight of in determining the amount that shall be 
fed. 

Exercise for Eiues. — When there is a large pasture 
not too distant from the sheep sheds, the ewes will take 
ample exercise in it if allowed free access to the same 
while the ground is bare. In seasons of prolonged 
deep snow it is different. It may then be advantageous 
to strew some food over the snow some distance from 
the sheds, and if possible where drifts do not gather. 
A snow plough run to the place when necessary will 
very quickly make a good track. A load of food, pro- 
tected by hurdles, may be placed hard by for convenieni 
feeding. The question of sufficient exercise for breed- 
ing ewes is one of great importance. When it is want- 
ing there is likely to be much trouble at the lambing 
season, though the food and management in other re- 
spects should be correct. 

The Lambing Season. — In cold weather the lambing 
shed is the proper place for the ewes at such a time. 
In one little division of this shed the ewe and her new- 
born progeny should be kept for a few days, or until 
the lambs are well started and the udder of the ewe is 
safe. The grain food given to the ewe, light at first, 
should be gradually increased. When all is right she 
may then be drafted to that division of the flock with 
the youngest lambs in it. 

Food Subsequent to Lambing. — Whatever the kind 
or kinds of the food fed subsequent to the lambing sea- 
son, it should be of a character such as will produce 
abundant milk-giving. As before the lambing season 
various fodders may be fed subsequent to the same. 



MANAGEMENT OF EWES 121 

The most suitable are clover hay and alfalfa, but good 
corn fodder is valuable. The grain should be in- 
creased. If the lambs are to be sold early, the ewes 
may be given practically about all they will eat clean. 
The kind or kinds of food fed may be the same as those 
given before the lambing season, but increased in quan- 
tity. More corn, relatively may also be fed to aid in 
preventing too great loss of flesh in the ewes. 

When field roots can be spared the ewes may be given 
about all they will consume of these. Roots are excel- 
lent for promoting milk-giving. A less amount of grain 
is required when roots are fed thus freely. In the ab- 
sence of roots, bran or flax in one or the other of its 
forms should be fed more or less freely. 

Corn ensilage may be fed with advantage to breeding 
ewes before and after lambing. It is not usual to feed 
more than 4 pounds per head per day, and less than 
that is given in very cold weather. The succulence in 
the ensilage aids digestion, but ensilage is not so good a 
food as field roots, though as a rule it probably costs 
less to obtain it. It is not common to feed both ensil- 
age and roots at the same time, nor is it necessary to the 
well-doing of the sheep, but it maj^ be done if so desired. 

When ewes are out on fresh grass pasture, they do 
not commonly require any other food after the pasture 
has become plentiful, but to this there may be excep- 
tions, as, for instance, when the ewes and lambs are to 
be prepared early for the market. 

The Weaning Period. — The lambs should, if possi- 
ble, be taken quite away from the ewes at once ; that is 
to say, the lambs when separated should not be allowed 



122 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

to return to the dams again. The latter should also be' 
put upon dry food and kept for a few days where they 
will not be disturbed by the bleating of the lambs. As 
soon as the ewes are dried the culling process should 
follow. Then it is that the ewes which are to be dis- 
posed of should be marked in some w^ay, and when prac- 
ticable separated from the flock and put upon a special 
diet. Any whose udders may be defective or who are 
too old, also shy breeders and poor nurses, should be 
removed. In determining which shall be retained, the 
preference may be given to ewes that produce twins or 
single lambs according to the design of the breeder. 
That this may be possible each ewe should have an ear 
ta^: and number, and a record of the progeny kept. This 
may not be practicable in very large flocks, but it is 
usually practicable with the ordinary farm flock. 

Ordinarily it is not customary to keep ewes beyond 
the age of five years; that is to say, the ewes are re- 
quired to produce but three crops of lambs. When fat- 
tened at that age tlic process is not so diflicult or costly 
as at a later age, and they sell for better prices. They 
are also disposed of before they reach that condition 
through old ago, wlicn they require special feeding. 
But in tlic case of exceptionally good dams, and espe- 
cially when purely bred, and therefore of superior 
value, they mny be kept longer. Some breeds may also 
be kej^t to a greater age than others. Notably is this 
true of ^Feriuos. 

The culls thus separated should ordinarily be dis- 
posed of while yet on pasture. They do not fatten so 



MANAGEMENT OP EWES 1^5 

easily or profitably as lambs, and if sold before going 
into winter quarters they are out of the way. No other 
food will fatten them so easily or so quickly as a pas- 
ture of rape well advanced in its growth. 



CHAPTER XL 
Managfcment of Rams* 

Rams "used in breeding, when properly bred and 
reared, exert a greater influence on the progeny than all 
the ewes combined which they are bred to. The former 
influence will exceed the latter in the individual pro- 
geny as much as the breeding and prepotency of each 
ram exceeds the breeding and prepotency of each ewe. 
It is greatly important, therefore, that rams should be 
well reared. 

Care Subsequent to Weaning. — The care and man- 
agement of ram lambs to be kept for breeding are the 
same as are suitable for other lambs up to the weaning 
season. Onlj in purebred flocks will uncastrated ram 
lambs be found at the weaning season. This at least 
should be true of farm flocks. But even in purebred 
flocks all the males of but little promise should be cas- 
trated when not more than two or three months old. 
Even at the weaning season, should any uncastrated 
males be found in the flock of inferior development and 
promise, they should be set aside for the block. 

The breeder of purebreds cannot afford to sell rams 
of decidedly inferior individual merit even at a low 
price, otherwise his reputation will suffer, nor can the 
breeders even of common flocks afford to buy such rams, 
though they should be cheaply purchased. Purchasing 
such males has greatly hindered the improvement that 



MANAGEMENT OF RAMS 125 

might otherwise have been attained. Rams of uncouth 
build, though large, should be rejected more readil;y 
than those a little under size, but well formed. The 
latter may develop later, especially if they are twins. 

When the ram lambs have been weaned they should, 
if possible, be given rich pastures. These should be 
supplemented by a grain portion that will promote mus- 
cular development and good bone. In other words, the 
grain should be rich in protein. There is no better 
mixture for them probably than one of oats and wheat 
bran with enough oil meal in it to secure that degree of 
flesh that will induce a ready market when sold to breed- 
ers the same season. Here also good rape pastures will 
be greatly helpful. But in pasturing purebreds on 
rape, great care should be exercised to so manage the 
lambs that they will not suffer from bloating. To avoid 
such hazard some flock-masters feed the rape as soiling 
food to the sheep as well as to the lambs. Ram lambs 
should be quite removed from the females of the flock 
that they may feed more quietly. 

Management During Winter. — The rams not sold 
should be kept separated from the ewes. They should, 
of course, be comfortably housed, and allowed the un- 
restrained freedom of an adjacent or contiguous yard or 
paddock, except when storms are falling. If practica- 
ble to keep the young rams separate from the older ones, 
they will probably fare better on the whole. But it 
may be necessary sometimes to keep them together. 
When it is, they should have ample room for feeding 
lest the weaker rams should not get their proper share. 
When first brought together it should be in a very small 



126 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

inclosiire lest the strong ones should injure the weak by 
fighting them. They should be kept there until they 
become used to the newcomers. 

Food in Winte7\ — The food should still be of a char- 
acter to promote growth. While various grain mix- 
tures may be fed with good results, no mixture will be 
found superior for prolonged feeding than oats, bran 
and a small addition of oilcake. Field roots will prove 
greatly helpful in stimulating growth, but the fact 
should not be overlooked that there is an element of dan- 
ger in feeding mangels to rams They have in instances 
not a few interfered with urination to the extent of 
proving fatal, but this danger does not appear to be pre- 
sent when they are fed to ewes. 

Various fodders may, of course, be fed, but none are 
more suitable for young rams than good, well-cured 
clover of the medium and alsike varieties and alfalfa. 
Hay, composed of peas and oats properly grown, is also 
excellent, not only for rams, but for all classes of sheep. 
The aim should be to keep the young rams growing con- 
tinuously without overloading them with fat. And 
with the rams it is quite as important as with the ewes 
to give them a food that will prevent a constipated con- 
dition of the bowels. 

Management in Suminer. — In the summer the rams 
should be out on pasture until the season of the mating 
of the ewes. It is also equally important to provide 
shade for them as for the ewes. Where there are but 
one or two stock rams there can be no serious objection 
to their running with the flock or with a section of it 
during the early summer months. It wdll also be as 



MANAGEMENT OF RAMS 127 

well or better to allow the rams to go without grain dur- 
ing these months unless from some cause they should be 
in lean condition. Feeding grain freely and without 
interruption to rams is like driving a machine at too 
high a rate of speed. 

Management at the Mating Season. — Some weeks 
previous to the mating season rams should be confined 
to,, a grass paddock where at the same time they will 
have access to a shed. Grain feeding should then be- 
gin, and if it can be supplemented with succulent and 
nutritious soiling foods, as, for instance, rape or second- 
growth clover in the absence of good grazing. The rams 
will prosper all the better for it. It is important that 
the rams shall be in a good condition of thrift and bod- 
ily vigor when usdd in service. Such a condition has a 
bearing upon the vigor of the progeny, and it is believed 
also upon the number of the same. The more exacting 
the service required of the rams the better should they 
be nourished. The standard grain food, oats and bran, 
may be fed to the rams, but it will be improved if some 
barley or wheat or both is added. Wheat especially, 
■when fed in moderation, w^ould seem to be helpful in 
stimulating the generative function. The quantity to 
be fed daily will depend on the condition of the ram 
and the extent of the service. The necessity for feed- 
ing more than 2 pounds per day will seldom occur and 
usually less than that will suffice. 

When rams are thus confined to the paddock the flock 
should be driven to the yards morning or evening dur- 
ing the mating season. The rams when turned in to 
the flock will then single out the ewes in heat. The 



128 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

ear number of each ewe thus served should then be 
noted and recorded. It may seem like taking much 
trouble to manage thus, but in a valuable flock, and es- 
pecially in a purebred flock, labor thus bestowed will 
be abundantly rewarded. 

When the flock is small, and especially where it is a 
grade flock, it may answer fairly well to allow the ram 
to run with the flock. If quite tame, as he ought to be, 
he may be given grain daily in the field. Only a few 
minutes are required for its consumption, even though 
the attendant should have to wait. And in other in- 
stances it will be proper to feed grain to both rams and 
ewes. 

When it is desired to have the ewes marked by the 
ram ^t the time of service, red ochre or some coloring 
substance should be applied to his brisket daily. The 
ochre is powdered and is then moistened with water 
and applied to the brisket of the ram with a cloth. 

Young or Older Rams. — Better results may be looked 
for from matured rams than from those immature or so 
old as to be past the period of their best vigor. They 
should be at their best at, say from 2 to 5 or 6 years, 
but will vary somewhat with the breed. It is admis- 
sible sometimes to use ram lambs on a flock that does 
not exceed, say a score, especially if the lambs come 
early in the season and are well developed, but the ex- 
tent to which ram lambs are used in service is to be re- 
gretted. The age to which rams may be profitably used 
■will vary with the individual and with the breed. 
Usually they should not be used beyond the ag*e of, say 



MANAGEMENT OF RAMS 129 

6 or 7 years, but rams of the Merino types have fre- 
quently proved quite useful to a greater age. 

Amount of Service. — The amount of service that a 
ram can profitably render will depend upon vigor, age 
and breed. It is not enough that a ram shall beget pro- 
geny. It is far more important that he shall beget a 
sufficiently vigorous progeny. This he v^ill not do 
when overworked. A ram at his best should be able to 
serve from 50 to 100 ewes in one season. He can be 
profitably mated with a considerably larger number 
when confined to a paddock and fed and managed as 
described above than when allowed to run with the flock. 

When there is but one stock ram, he can only be used 
in the same flock but two years. If he has proved a 
good sire it would be unfortunate to send him to the 
block. Some one should purchase him for service in 
another flock. There is no hazard in using such a ram. 
His value has been proved, while in using a young ram 
there is always an element of uncertainty as to what 
the exact results will be. 



CHAPTER XIL 
The Flock in Winter. 

In sheep husbandry troubles will accumulate from 
defective management much more rapidly in winter 
than in summer. It is therefore, more highly impor- 
tant that close attention shall then be given to all the 
little details that have a bearing upon success. 

Going Into Winter Quarters. — The change from the 
fields to the yards should be gradually made when prac- 
ticable. As soon as the weather becomes stormy in the 
autumn, sheep should be protected from the storms. 
Exposure to one severe and prolonged storm of rain or 
sleet may produce catarrhal troubles that will affect the 
sheep during all the winter months, even though none 
of the animals should succumb to such exposure. They 
should be yarded at night as soon as the pastures be- 
come crisp from night frosts. Before being turned out 
to graze in the morning, they should be given a light 
feed of some kind of fodder. Such yarding is not so 
necessary when sheep are pasturing at that season on 
an old grass pasture with much dead grass in it. Graz- 
ing upon succulent food crisped by frost when the 
stomach is empty is not good for any kind of stock, and 
in the case of sheep it may lead to digestive trouble-i 
that prove fatal. 

Succulent Food. — When sheep are changed from 
summer to winter quarters as described above, the 



THE FLOCK IN WINTER 131 

change is made so gradually from a succulent diet to 
one that is not succulent, or at least one that is much 
less succulent, that no setback is given to the sheep. But 
provision should be made in some way to provide more 
or less succulent food. iVnd this will be all the more 
necessary if the preceding summer has been a dry one, 
as then the fodder will be more than ordinarily dry. It 
can be most cheaply provided in the form of corn ensil- 
age. While that is a good food, in the judgment of the 
author roots are better, though not so cheaply raised. 
In furnishing ensilage the caution should be observed 
to not build a silo with too large a diameter in it, as 
when it is thus built the food is removed too slowly to 
keep the exposed ensilage in a good condition. A 
round silo with a diameter of 10 feet and a height of 
24 feet will be amply large to provide ensilage for 200 
sheep. 

In the absence of ensilage and roots, wheat bran or 
bran and oilcake should imquestionably be fed in more 
or less quantity to the sheep. As previously intimated, 
more than half the ills that befall sheep in the winter 
season have their origin in a constipated condition of 
the bowels. This more than anything else perhaps is 
to be guarded against in the management of sheep in 
winter under our conditions. 

Variety in the Food. — Variety in the food is not so 
important as succulence, but it is by no means unimpor- 
tant. A change from a more palatable to a less palat- 
able food seems grateful to sheep occasionally. This 
is witnessed in the extent to which they will eat oat or 
wheat straw even when good clover hay is being fed to 



132 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

them. Such a variety should be duly planned for. pro- 
vided and stored away. And care should he taken to 
hold in reserve the most appetizing and nutritious foods 
until the lambing season. Too much of sameness in the 
food characterizes a great deal of the feeding that is 
done in the state. The extent to which flocks are con- 
fined to fodder consisting only of corn or of native hay 
is not favorable to the most marked well-doing in the 
sheep. 

Dipping the Floch. — In nearly all instances there 
will be more or less of ticks on the flock in the autumn. 
If not destroyed these will multiply so as to give the 
sheep much unrest. This will, of course, seriously 
hinder well-doing, hence dipping should not be neg- 
lected in the autumn. Nor is it well to defer the same 
until the weather gets cold. The mode or modes of 
dipping is discussed in Chapter XVIII. 

Grading the Floch. — If the flock can be graded or 
divided it will thrive better than when this cannot be 
done. The grading should be based on age, thrift and 
sex. The great advantage from such grading arises 
from the opportimity it furnishes to give to the sheep 
of each class the kind of food suited to their n6eds. Of 
course such grading involves more labor in feeding the 
flock. It also calls for more divisions in the sheds than 
would otherwise be required, but these need not involve 
much outlay, since the divisions can be so made as to be 
moveable and easily changed and readjusted. Such 
grading Avill be equally helpful to a feeding as to a 
breeding flock, but the latter is more important because 
of their greater value. 



THE FLOCK IN WINTER 133 

Fodder and Grain. — The proper adjustment of the 
fodder and grain is important. So long as sheep can 
be kept in a suitable condition as to flesh on a diet of 
fodder without grain, they will be more cheaply fed, 
but when fed fodder only, if they begin to lose flesh 
grain feeding should be at once resorted to. The effort 
should be made to retain the condition as to flesh which 
the sheep bring with them from the pastures. If a 
breeding flock is allowed to run down in flesh before the 
lambing season, they will not nourish their lambs nearly 
so well, nor will it be possible to get them up again in 
good flesh until after the lambs are weaned, even though 
the feeding should be liberal and the food suitable. It 
is possible to have breeding ewes in too high flesh, but 
in nearly all instances th« mistake is in the opposite 
direction. 

Housing Too Warmly. — The mistake of housing 
sheep too warmly should be most carefully avoided. 
The evils that follow are many, as for instance, loosen- 
ing of the wool from overheating, mortality in newly 
born lambs and general ill-doing. Sheep do not appear 
t® take any harm from low temperatures if protected 
from wind. But they soon suffer seriously from crowd- 
ing in stables without ample ventilation. If the y^rds 
are kept well bedded the sheep, if allowed to choose, 
will generally stay outside, except in stormy weather, 
not only in the day, but also at night. If shut in close 
and ill-ventilated quarters at night and then allowed to 
go out at once into a chilled atmosphere, the flock will 
not prosper. Of course, it is practicable to keep sheep 
inside for weeks in succession under certain conditions, 



134 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

as for instance, when they are shorn in the fall and are 
then fattened. But when thus fed the sheds are prop- 
erly ventilated. 

Freedom From Draughts. — The flock-master should 
carefully guard against exposing sheep to draughts. 
When they lie in a draught they are liable to become 
affected with catarrh and to contract colds which produce 
coughing more or less violent. These coughs frequently 
become chronic. Something has already been said on 
this question in Chapter VII. when treating of the con- 
struction of sheds. Wiien the walls are free from open- 
ings and when doors are only made on one side of the 
building, the danger from exposure to draughts is 
slight. But if the doors and windows are on both sides 
of the shed, much watchfulness is required. When 
thus open on both sides at the same time, currents of 
air are pretty certain to move across the ohed. Unless, 
therefore, in still weather the aim should be to have 
these open only on one side at the same time. When 
young lambs are exposed to draughts, the danger is 
greater than from exposing mature sheep to the same. 
: Use Bedding Freely. — The floors of sheep sheds be- 
ing usually of earth, will soon become foul in damp 
weather unless kept well littered. The same is more 
emphatically true of the yards. Lying on a damp bed 
or amid offensive exhalations is peculiarly hurtful to 
sheep. Such exposure should be sedulously avoided. 
At the lambing season increased vigilance is necessary, 
as then in rainy weather the ewes and lambs are more 
likely to be crowded. Filthy quarters are peculiarly 
hurtful to lambs and will soon prove fatal to them. At 



THE FLOCK IN WINTER X35 

some seasons litter should be strewn over the fl<X)r»- of 
the sheds daily. To allow sheep to be insufficiently sup-: 
plied with bedding would be indefensible in this land 
of burning strawstacks. The more litter that is sup- 
plied the more also will the sheep furnish of valuable 
manure. 

Water and Salt. — The old idea that sheep do not re- 
quire water when they have access to the snow was a 
very mistaken one. True, sheep will eat snow when no 
water is supplied. But such a necessity is simply cruel. 
When on dry food, sheep not only require water every- 
day, but they will do better when water is constantly 
accessible, and the more stimulating the diet the greatei* 
will be the amount of water consumed. If it can be 
supplied indoors the trouble from freezing will be less- 
ened. 

A free supply of salt seems essential to the well-doing 
of sheep. It is better to keep it constantly before them 
than to give it to them at intervals, and it is also more 
convenient to supply it thus in boxes or shallow troughs. 

Exercise. — This question does not need to be consid- 
ered in climates so mild that sheep go from the sheds to 
the fields to graze during much of the year. But when 
the winters are long as in Minnesota, it is an important 
question. In open winters it is not so difficult, for then 
the sheep will take exercise voluntarily. They will 
roam about in a grass pasture sufficiently during the 
day, even though they do not get much food. But when 
the snow is deep it is different. It may then be advis- 
able to feed them more or less in some spot not too near 
the sheds, as described in Chapter X. Another way is 



136 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

to plough a track, circular in form, if convenient, and 
to strew fodder along some part of it every day. 

Trimming and Tagging. — Ordinarily not much 
trimming or tagging is necessary in the winter, but the 
occasion for both is always more or less present in ;i 
flock that is to be kept in a nicely presentable condition. 
Loose locks of wool are unsightly and should be re- 
moved. The same is true of any adherent filth, fresh 
or in the dried form, around the buttocks. And in 
purebred flocks trimming is quite in order when the 
time for it can be secured, especially is this true of the 
males. 



CHAPTER XIIL 
The Flock in Summer* 

Certain phases of this question have been touche-i 
upon in previous chapters, viz : in those that relate to 
the management of lambs, ewes and rams respectively. 
But some features of summer management, general in 
character, remain to be discussed. 

Turning Out on Pasture. — Sheep should be changed 
gradually rather than suddenly from a fodder and grain 
, diet to one of pasture. When they have access to grass 
pasture all the while, even in winter when the ground is 
bare, the change will be gradually made in the spring, 
as then the green food gradually increases with the ad- 
vance of the season. This process is, however, hard on 
the pasture. If a blue grass pasture can be reserved 
from early in June onward to provide early spring pas- 
ture, the following year it will furnish very suitable 
grazing for the early spring. True, the long growth of 
the previous year will be sere and dead in this climate, 
because of the intensity of the cold. But it forms amulcli 
that protects the roots of the grass so well that growth 
is rapid early in the season. When grazing at such a 
time, the sheep eat the dead grass along with the new, 
hence undue laxity of the bowels is prevented. 

When the sheep cannot be grazed by either of these 
methods in the spring, the pastures should be allowed to 
get a start before turning the sheep onto them. The 



138 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

period of grazing sliould be short at first and gradually 
lengthened until the change is completed. When first 
turned out there should be no diminution of the grain 
fed. The fodder should be gradually withheld as indi- 
cated by the decreased consumption of the same. When 
practicable the best of the fodder should be saved for 
such a time to tempt the appetite, as the sheep are less 
inclined to eat fodder freely after grazing on young 
grass. The reduction of the grain food should also be 
gradual until finally none is given except in special in- 
stances. 

, Change in Pastures. — When it is practicable to fur- 
nish an occasional change of pasture, the sheep will do 
laetiter than when they are kept upon the one pasture. 
This, however, may not be true where the pastures are 
so large that they furnish abundant food for the sheep 
and cattle that graze together upon them. Sheep are 
fondest of grass short and of recent growth. When 
they can be alternated on pastures such grass or other 
grazing is more easily supplied. More food will also 
be secured when the grazing is not continuously close 
in character. 

,' Pasturing Brush Land. — Sheep may be made to 
perve an excellent purpose in pasturing brush land with 
^ view to use them as aids in killing the brush. But 
they should not be kept continuously upon it. Such 
food will not sustain sheep in good form when it is the 
gole dependence. The ideal way to graze such lands is 
to pasture the sheep upon the brush from morning until 
.noon, 9,nd on other pastures in the afternoon. The 
brush land will then in time be subdued and without 



THE PLOCK IN SUMMER 139 

hindering the well-doing of the sheep, but more time 
will be required to accomplish the work. Such food is 
also much more readily consumed in the spring when 
the leaves are young and tender. 

Pasturing Swampy Land. — The relation between 
pasturing sheep on low, swampy or undrained land and 
parasitical diseases has long since been noticed. It has 
also been noticed that hazard from such a source is 
greater in lambs than in old sheep, and in the early part 
of the season than in the late fall. The aim should be, 
therefore, when practicable, to keep the slieep away 
from such lands altogether, and when this cannot be done 
to keep them away until midsummer is past. Then 
after the long and coarse grass has been eaten by cattle, 
sheep may be allowed to glean. 

Corralling at Night. — The practice of yarding or eor- 
alling the sheep at night may in many instances be nec- 
essary, but it hinders rather than helps well-doing in 
the sheep. When sheep are thus yarded or corralled, 
tbere is oftentimes crowding. They usually have to 
travel some distances to the enclosures and from the 
same. They are also required to spend the late evening 
and the early morning in the corralls, and these are the 
portions of the day above all others during which sheep 
love to graze in the hot summer season. There is also 
serious loss in fertility unless the enclosures are kept 
well littered. Such protection may, however, be neces- 
sary, as otherwise dogs and wolves may prey upon the 
Hock. The extent to which sheep suffer in Minnesota, 
especially from the first-named source, is peculiarly un^ 
fortunate. 



140 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

When sheep can lie in the pastures they graze in com- 
fort in the evening twilight. 

They lie down on the nearest rise of ground to which 
they happen to be near. With the early dawn they are 
up and grazing again. And when the sun waxes warm 
they seek the shade and there remain until it is cool 
again. One can see at a glance that sheep thus at lib- 
erty should prosper better than those confined at night. 

Providing Shade. — The question of shade for sheep 
in summer is greatly important. It has a far-reach- 
ing influence on their well-doing. So important is it, 
that the flock-master should not fail to provide it where 
nature has not done so. 

When nature has furnished groves Of forests and the 
sheep may have access to the same, the question of shade 
would be easily disposed of were it not for the mischief 
sometimes produced by the fly which deposits the egg 
that produces what is known as ^'grub in the head." 
Because of this, valuable flocks of sheep should have ac- 
cess to the shade of a shed during the heat of the day, 
from, say the middle of July until the middle of Sep- 
tember. The windows of the shed should be darkened 
by hanging over them some kind of screens, as for in- 
stance, coarse sacking. Ample ventilation is also in- 
dispensable where sheep are thus sheltered. When win- 
dows are numerous and on opposite sides of the shed 
such ventilation may thus be secured. The flies will 
not come into those dark resting places. The freedom 
thus sectired from flies generally furthers well-doing in 
the sheep. 

But the shade of trees is also very necessary when it 



THE FLOCK IN SUMMER 141 

can be obtained, for sheep will take refuge in the same 
in the heat of the day from the turning out season until 
the arrival of the cool days of autumn. Where nature 
has not provided, shade trees should be planted to pro- 
vide the same where sheep husbandry is to be a perma- 
nent work. They may be planted in clumps of some 
size, on elevated ground, but to this plan the objection 
holds that it makes trouble w^hile the field is being culti- 
vated. The objection thus made is obviated by planting 
the trees in the corners where four fields come together. 
The trees may thus be made to occupy the angle in each 
corner. But when planted thus it should be where 
fences are to be permanently maintained and on high 
ground. The best tree for the purpose under Minne- 
sota conditions would probably be the American elm. 
It does not grow rapidly, but the tramping of the sheep 
over the roots do not injure it as it does many other 
trees. 

Until such shade can be provided when it is absent, 
temporary shade may be furnished without great cost 
by building a low shed in one or more of the pastures. 
In building such a shed, plant posts in the ground, 
spike scantlings over these, and nail thin boards over 
the scantlings, giving the boards some slope. Two or 
three boards may be nailed across the upper part of 
each end and the work is done. It is not necessary to 
have the roof more than a few feet from the ground. 
Under certain conditions some cheap but durable cloth 
could be used instead of boards. 

Tagging the Sheep. — When sheep are first turned out 
to pasture the fresh grass induces a more or less lax 

i« 



142 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

condition of the bowels. This may necessitate more or 
less of clipping away of the soiled wool below the tail- 
head, but when the sheep have been shorn previous to 
the grazing season, trouble cannot, of course, arise from 
such a source. Tagging may also be necessary at sun- 
dry times during the season, as for instance, when 
sheep are first turned into a pasture of rape or other 
food equally succulent. 

Water and Salt. — Water is not so necessary in sum- 
mer as in winter except when the pastures have lost their 
succulence. There may be times when sheep graze on 
such pastures that they will not take any water, espe- 
cially is this true when they are grazed on succulent 
rape. But usually they should have access to water, 
abundant and pure. Such water should be supplied, 
from wells, pure lakes or running streams. It is ha::- 
ardous to allow sheep to drink from stagnant pools, lest 
parasites should thus be taken into the system. In hot 
weather when sheep are on dry pastures, they drink very 
freely. 

While sheep consume salt in considerable quantities 
at all times when they have access to it, they have an 
increased craving for it when feeding on succulent food. 
It is specially beneficial to them at such times. It is 
thought it tends to counteract the tendency in some de- 
gree to undue laxness of the bowels. But sheep should 
have free access to salt during the whole of the period 
of grazing. 

Protection From Burrs. — Burrs of various kinds 
will get a footing in the pastures or in the grain fields 
grazed by sheep after harvest. These should be de- 



THE FLOCK IN SUMMER 143 

stroyecl with much care as they are especially iiijurions 
tu the wool. They are not usually difficult to eradicate, 
since they are either annuals, as the cockle burr or bien- 
nials as the burdock. All kinds of burrs will soon be 
eradicated by careful ploughing where none are allow^ed 
to seed. In bye-places hand spudding may be neces- 
sary. Cutting, them below the crown will in all in- 
stances destroy the plants. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Fattening^ Sheep and Lambs. 

The fattening of sheep and lambs may yet grow into 
a towering industry in the state. Until recent years it 
has chiefly been confined to the stockyards. Gradually, 
however, the industry is being extended to the farms. 
The more it is thus extended the better will it be for 
the state, and also the farmers. Fattening sheep upon 
Minnesota farms would mean the consumption of many 
kinds of bulky farm products that are in the meantime 
wasted or sold at a sacrifice. It would also mean the 
consumption of grain that now finds its way to the mar- 
ket. The fertility in the foods thus sold is forever lost 
to the farms. It would also mean ultimately that 
screenings would be found too valuable to send to the 
elevator, hence they would be fed on the farm. And 
it would give employment to the farmer in winter 
profitable in character where wisely conducted. 

Sources of Supply. — The sources of supply are two- 
fold, viz: the farm and the range. Those who feed 
may grow their oAvn supplies, or they may, of course, 
add to what they grow by purchase from their neigh- 
bors. The aim should be, however, to finish on the 
farm the animals grown upon it. The objection to it, 
viz. : that lots less than a carload cannot be marketed 
without too much cost may be met by two or more 
neighbors, who have small lots, combining in the ship- 



FATTENING SHEEP AND LAMBS 145 

ment of the same. On very many farms, however, 
there would be no difficulty iri having at least a carload 
to ship every year. Better lambs can be grown upon 
the farm than upon the range, and the facilities for 
growing them are superior. This does net mean, how- 
ever, that sheep and lambs reared on western ranges are 
not well adapted to fattening. 

The stockers from the ranges can usually be pur- 
chased to the best advantage hj farmers who buy at the 
stockyard centers, but where the work is done in a 
large way, it may be advantageous to purchase on the 
range. The buying may be done in person or through 
a responsible and trustworthy commission agent. 

Two Classes of Feeders. — Feeding on the farms will 
probably be done more and more by two classes of feed- 
ers, viz : by those who feed only stock of their own rear- 
ing, and by those who feed only what they buy. Such 
a division of the work would tend greatly to hinder the 
spread of disease. The breeder of valuable purebreds 
should hesitate before he brings into his yards sheep 
and lambs for feeding from an outside source, since, 
in so doing, he may introduce the germs of parasitical 
diseases that niav give him no end of troiible in his 
future work of breeding. When they are so introduced, 
the aim should be to confine and finish them in yards 
separate from the others. 

The Class of Sheep to Fatten. — The aim should be 
to fatten home-grown stocks when they are young; that 
is to say, under one year old. Mutton can be more cheap- 
ly grown up to the age of one year than beyond that age. 
This arrives from the law of animal development which 




X 



m 

a 

a, 

n.; 



FATTENING SHEEP AND LAMBS l47 

informs us that as the birth period is receded from the 
cost of making a pound of gain increases. It will sel- 
dom be so profitable, therefore, to grow and fatten 
wethers on the farm as to sell the progeny under the 
ag-e mentioned. But there will always be a certain 
proportion of aged ewes to turn off. 

When the supplies come from the range, the buyer 
may choose lambs, wethers one year old or older, or aged 
ewes. Which should be preferred will depend in a very 
considerable degree on the prices at which they may be 
bought. If lambs can be bought at the same price per 
pound as wethers, they will bring more profit, since they 
are likely to gain rather more in a given time, will pro- 
duce gains more cheaply, and will sell for more per 
pound when finished. For a similar reason wethers 
purchased at the same price as old ewes will bring more 
profit. But there have been instances, notwithstand- 
ing, in which larger profits have been made from ewes 
than wethers, and from wethers than from lambs, be- 
cause of the higher relative prices that had to be paid 
for the lambs as compared with the ewes and wethers, 
and for the wethers as compared with the ewes. The 
increase in the weight of animals subsequent to time of 
purchase is favorable to the purchase of heavy animals, 
whereas the largest increase is obtained from thrifty 
animals not too heavily fleshed at the time of purchase. 

The Season for Fattening. — Lambs may be fattened 
at almost any season, but ordinarily the fattening sea- 
son extends from September or October until the end 
of the May following. When done previous to the set- 
ting in of winter, it is usually done on pasture, such aa 



14S SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

rape and fall turnips and the gleanings of harvest 
fields. A wide door lies invitingly open for such fat- 
tening in large portions of the state, because of the 
extensive areas sown to grain and because of the easy 
nossibility of growing rape and turnips in nearly all of 
these. Such fattening may be done with or without a 
grain supplement. More commonly it is done without 
grain, unless for a short time before the close of the fat- 
tening period. Sheep and lambs thus fattened are 
commonly put upon the market in November and De- 
cember. 

Fattening in sheds more commonly begins in N^ovem- 
ber and December, but it may begin earlier. When be- 
gun, say in ISTovember, it is thus easily possible to fatten 
two lots in succession in the same yards in one season, 
as will be apparent from what is said under the sub- 
head next given. The chief difficulty about fattening 
the second lot arises from the scarcity of feeding stocks, 
although these are usually obtainable at the stockyards 
on into January. 

Duration of the Fattening Period. — The duration of 
the fattening period will depend upon such conditions 
as the amount of flesh carried by the animals at the. 
time that they are put on feed, the character of the food 
and the age of the animals. The lower the condition 
of flesh, the less carbonaceous the food and the less ma- 
tured the animals, the longer will they take to fatten. 
Ordinarily, the fattening period is from 90 to 100 days, 
but sheep in fair condition and fed chiefly on corn may 
in some instances be fattened in 60 to 75 days. The 
same is true of sheep fattened on good, well-grown rape 



FATTENING SHEEP AND LAMBS 149 

pastures. But lambs that are low in- flesh and that are 
fattened on a diet with a considerable proportion of 
protein in it, as bran and field roots, will require at 
least 120 days to fatten. 

Foods Used in Fatteriing. — Sheep and lambs have 
been more commonly fattened heretofore in Minnesota 
on screenings and native hay, and such food has proved 
highly adapted to the purpose. Screenings have a 
great variety of seeds in them and more or less small 
grain, and these are in many instances so blended as to 
make a good balanced ration. But the exceedingly 
variable character of screenings should not be lost sight 
of, when screenings are being purchased for feeding. 
If the screenings are light and chaffy, shelled corn or 
ground corn should be fed along with them. Screen- 
ings will also be less important as a food for sheep as 
better systems of farming are introduced. 

Various kinds of grain may, however, be fed^ ac- 
cording as they are available and cheap. Either corn, 
barley or oats may be chosen as the basis of the grain 
fed. Along with these it is desirable to feed more or 
less bran. More bran should be fed with corn than 
with the other grain foods. Oats alone will fatten 
sheep in good form, but they are usually too dear to be 
fed thus with profit. Wheat also will fatten sheep sat- 
isfactorily, with or without adding other grain, as oats, 
for instance. A small addition of oil-cake in the pea- 
form adds much to the value of the grain portion of a 
ration, but the relatively high cost hinders it from being 
extensively used. In the absence of oil-cake a little 
flax will prove helpful. But oilcake and flax are less 



ISO SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

necessary with screenings than with cereals. At the 
Minnesota experiment station the author obtained good 
results from feeding the following grain mixtures, as 
well as otiiers that might be given, viz : — corn, oats and 
oil-cake in the proportions of 3, 6 and 1 parts respec- 
tively, barley, oats and oil-cake in similar proportions 
and oats and oil-cake in the proportions of and 1 parts 
respectively. In other instances bran was added to the 
various grains fed. On the whole the most satisfactory 
results were obtained from feeding a mixture of barley, 
oats and oil-cake with barley as the basal grain. The 
best gains made for a long period of feeding were ob- 
tained from lambs fed on a mixture of oats, bran, bar- 
ley and oil-cake fed in the proportions of 3, 3, 3 and 1 
parts respectively, a small addition of field roots and 
native hay. The gains made per month for a period of 
126 days were 10.5 pounds. 

Corn and oats make an excellent grain food with 
some bran added. Even when oats are considerably 
dearer than corn, it will probably pay better to add some 
oats to the corn fed, though bran is being fed at the same 
time. Sheep do not relish bran as they do grain, es- 
pecially when the bran is added in xmdue proportion. 

The fodders most commonly fed in Minnesota are 
corn and native hay, but with the carbonaceous grain 
foods that are so frequently fed, clover is much more 
suitable when it can be obtained. Good millet and oat 
hay are well adapted for such feeding, more especially 
when fed alternating with other fodder. A variety of 
fodders is better than a single fodder. When corn is 
the basis of the grain fed, clover hay may best accom- 



FATTENING SHEEP AND LAMBS 151 

pany it. Corn ensilage when well made and fine ih 
quality may be fed with advantage, but not so freely in 
very cold weather, and at no time should it be entirely 
substituted for dry fodders. Field roots are on the 
whole superior to ensilage and may be fed with the ut- 
most freedom, but, for the relatively high cost as com- 
pared with ensilage, some kind of green food fed in 
small quantities tends to keep the digestion in tone. 

The grain is usually fed unground and the fodder in 
its natural state, but it is now becoming more common 
to thresh or shred the corn fodder. When it is of fine 
growth it is perhaps not necessary to prepare it thus. 

Feeding the Food. — Some who fatten sheep for the 
market prefer giving the grain in self-feeders, others 
feed just what the sheep will eat cleanly from time to 
time. The former usually give the fodder in large 
racks not more frequently than once a day. Which of 
the two plans should be adopted will depend on the num- 
ber of sheep fed and on the character of the food, also 
the nature of the help available. Large bands may be 
fed on screenings given in self-feeders with fairly satis- 
factory results. This method of feeding is almost uni- 
versally practised at large feeding centers. But on 
farms where sheep are in smaller bands and where the 
help comes from within the home, better results will be 
obtained by feeding only what the sheep will eat clean 
of grain, twice a day. The fodder should also be fed 
twice a day and thp racks cleaned out at least once a 
day. If the sheep can be graded on the basis of size 
and condition, and fed in separate lots, varying the food 



152 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

to suit the needs of each lot, the gains will be still more 
satisfactory. 

Whatever the method of feeding adopted, the grain 
should be fed in moderation at first, and the sheep grad- 
ually led up to full feeding. The more carbonaceous 
it is the more moderately should it be fed. For in- 
stance, while sheep may be fed oats tempered with a lit- 
tle bran with some freedom, at first, corn so tempered 
would have to be fed sparingly, and more bran would 
have to be added to the corn than to the oats. As much 
as half the mixture should be bran at first when corn 
is the only other ijigredient, but it would probably be 
better, at least for a time, to make about one-sixth o^ 
even a larger proportion than that of oats, even though 
oats should be relatively dearer than corn. The free- 
dom with which screenings may be fed at the first will 
depend on the character of the same. The amount fed 
daily should be increased very gradually until the sheep 
are on full feed. The injury from feeding too much 
grain at the first would result in indigestion, as mani- 
fested in the loss of appetite and in more or less of di- 
gestive troubles. When feeding corn as the basal food, 
three weeks are usually required to get the sheep on full 
_feed. This leading-up process should be carefully 
managed even where self-feeders are not used. 

Self-feeders are variously made, but more commonly 
on the principle of a box, oblong in shape, wider at the 
eaves than at the base, and with a small open space at 
the lower part of each side. The open space varies in 
width with the kind of grain fed, but is usually more 
than 2 inches, and through it the food comes into nar- 



FATTENING SHEEP AND LAMBS 153 

row troughs on the same plane or level as the floor of the 
rack. 

In experiments made by the author at the Minnesota 
experiment station, it was found that more trouble 
and loss resulted from feeding corn as the basal food in 
a self-feeder, than when the sheep were given just what 
they would consume. The same could not be said, how- 
ever, about the feeding of screenings. It is probably 
never safe to feed corn for any long period as the exclu- 
sive grain food, but it may form in a marked degree the 
preponderating grain food in feeding sheep and lambs, 
especially when fed along with clover hay and alfalfa. 

Amount of Food Consumed. — The amounts of grain 
and hay consumed respectively will, of course, vary with 
the character of these, hence it is not possible to state 
exactly how much of each will be consumed. It may be 
mentioned, however, that in three experiments conduct- 
ed by the author at the Minnesota experiment station, 
lambs which averaged 72.2 pounds in weight when the 
fattening period began, consumed on an average 2.92 
pounds of food per day. Of this amount 2.07 pounds 
was grain and .84 pounds hay. The grain included 
corn, oats, barley and oil-cake, fed variously, and the 
Lay was esentially native. Complete particulars are 
given in Bulletin No. 57, issued by the afore-mentioned 
experiment station in 1898. In two experiments con- 
ducted at the same station, wethers which averaging 115 
pounds when the fattening period began, consumed 4.65 
pounds of food per day, of which 2.89 pounds was grain, 
and 1.76 pounds hay. The food was essentially the 
same in kind as that fed to the lambs. Full particulars 




a. 



.FATTENING SHEEP AND LAMBS 155 

of these experiments are given in Bulletin No. 59, also 
issued in 1898. If good clover hay were fed, less grain 
would probably suffice, but there would then be a great- 
er consumption of hay. 

Increase in Weight. — The increase in weight made 
will probabl;^ vary with the class of sheep or lambs, the 
condition of the same when confined for fattening, the 
age of the animals fed, and the character of the food. 
In the afore-mentioned experiments the average gains 
made by the lambs per month of 30 days was 9.4 
pounds. The lowest average increase per month from 
all the lambs in a single experiment was 7.1 pounds, 
and the highest 12 pounds. When lambs or matured 
sheep gain, say from one-quarter to one-third of a 
pound per day during a feeding period of 100 days, the 
gains are to be considered satisfactory. 

Water and Salt. — Both water and sak should be ac- 
cessible every day. When confined to a dry diet, and 
at the same time a forcing one, large quantities of water 
will be consumed. The sheep will drink of the same 
frequently when they have access to it. If kept on in- 
sufficient or irregular supplies of the same, well doing 
will be greatly hindered. 

Sending to Market. — The aim should be to market 
promptly and as soon as the animals are fully ready for 
the block. When kept longer, the proportionate gains 
will be less and the mortality is likely to be greater. 
This is more emphatically true when corn is the basal 
factor in the grain fed. The machinery of digestion 
under such conditions is more or less prone to break 
down. 



156 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

When the animals ^re fat and heavy they should be 
drawn rather than driven when the distance is consid- 
erable from the feed yards to the place of shipment. 
Before shipping, the owner should be in touch with 
some responsible salesman at the place of destination. 
Such a one can ojive valuable counsel as to the most 
fr.vorable time for shipping. 



CHAPTER XV, 
Growing Winter Lambs* 

During recent years the growing of winter lambs has 
become a feature of sheep husbandry of considerable 
importance in some of the eastern states, though not 
much engaged in as yet in Minnesota. They are some- 
times called hot-house lambs, probably from the forc- 
ing methods of feeding adopted in pushing them for- 
ward so as to have them quickly ready for the market. 
The demand for this class of meat is as yet limited in 
the markets of our western cities, but it will doubtless 
increase in the near future. There should be room for 
a considerable and constantly increasing number of 
farmers to engage in this work. 

Who Should Grow Winter Lambs. — Those only 
should grow winter lambs who are favorably situated 
for the work. A favorable location implies reasonable 
proximity to a railway station and to markets, and 
facilities for sending and receiving messages by wire. 
The purchasers of winter lambs only want them usual- 
ly in limited numbers and as they order them. It also 
means the possession of sheds reasonably warm, and of 
the ability to grow readily such succulent and other 
foods as are necessary to feed with a view to pushing 
the lambs rapidly forward. Especially should the 
lambing pen be comfortable and commodious. 

Foundation Stocks. — As only the Dorset breed and 
11 



158 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

to a less extent the Tunis among the pure breeds in 
America drop lambs in the autumn, one or the other of 
those breeds will have to be chosen if pure blood only 
is used. Such a course would be too costly, because of 
the relatively high price of purebreds. I^or is it nec- 
essary, as cheaper material may be used. It may be 
obtained as follows: Select grade females. These 
may be of various shades of breeding, but they will 
probably breed earlier if possessed of considerable 
Merino blood. Put them on good pastures and mate 
them with a good, vigorous purebred Dorset ram. The 
lambs thus obtained will probablv come in January, 
February and March. If the lambs thus produced are 
sold early and the ewes are fed stimulating food as 
grain, with considerable wheat or barley in the mixture, 
the next crop of lambs may be looked for earlier. But, 
observe, all the female lambs that are possessed of 
promise should be retained for breeding. Those fe- 
males when bred should drop their lambs from October 
onward. Those of them that breed late should be sent 
to the shambles. By continuing thus to use pure Dor- 
set sires and to cull out the ewes which do not breed 
early, the habit of dropping lambs in the autumn will 
soon become fixed. This plan has been carried out by 
the author in an experimental way during recent years 
and with much success. In some instances ewes of the 
first Dorset cross have produced lambs early in Sep- 
tember. But usually it is not desirable to have lambs 
come thus early in the autumn, as they become too large 
for the requirement of the markets by the time that 
the demand arises for winter lambs. Sometimes, how- 



GROWING WINTER LAMBS 159 

ever, there is a good demand for such lambs about the 
Christmas season. 

From grade Merino ewes, even of the range types, 
lambs may be obtained the greater proportion of which 
will come in January and February when the ewes have 
been properly managed. The lambs usually bring 
good prices, but not so good as those dropped earlier, 
nor do all the ewes breed thus early. Some growers, 
however, follow this plan of obtaining winter lambs. 
As soon as the lambs are sold, oftentimes the ewes also 
are fattened and sold. 

When the Lambs Should Gome. — The best months 
during which the lambs should come are E'ovember, De- 
cember and January. When dropped earlier, as pre- 
viously intimated, the lambs are too large by the time 
that the demand arises for this class of lambs ; that is to 
say, from the Christmas season onward. The demand 
is probably greatest about or toward the approach of 
Easter, but it is good from the Christmas season on- 
ward. In about 60 to 75 days from the birth of the 
lambs, they should reach the weights most in favor in 
the markets; that is to say, from 50 to 60 pounds. 
And here it may be stated, that if extremely early lambs 
are wanted, the ewes will mate more readily before be- 
ing put out on grass than for a short period subse- 
quently. 

The Lambing Pen. — In growing winter lambs it is 
important to know the date of the service of each ewe. 
Each may then be put into the lambing pen a short time 
before she produces her lambs. If the lambing pen is 
large enough to admit of keeping each ewe with her 



160 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

newly born lamb in a separate division of the same for 
several days the opportunity to give the lamb a good 
start is thus furnished. These divisions may consist 
of movable fencing or some such material properly ad- 
justed. When drafted from the lambing pens, the lat- 
est arrivals should be put along with the youngest lot of 
lambs. Of the lambs and their dams there should be 
several grades, based upon the age of the lambs, that 
the latter may be fed according to their precise needs. 

Some growers adopt the plan of keeping both sheep 
and lambs inside until the latter are sold. This 
method may be more economical of food, but is much 
more expensive in outlay for shelter. 'Not is it actual- 
Iv necessary to the well-doing of the lambs. When a 
few days old they do not seem to mind the cold of Min- 
nesota weather, and will do quite well if allowed the 
freedom of the shed or the yard along with their dams. 
They will probably take more food when they have such 
liberty, but it is pretty certain that they will also grow 
faster. It is in consonence with the nature of a lamb 
to give it a chance to play in the sunlight. 

Feeding the Ewes. — No difficulty should arise in fur- 
nishing food suitable for the ewes that have not yet pro- 
duced lambs up to the time of housing them. Subse- 
quently good, nutritious fodder and a light addition of 
grain, as bran and oats, should suffice until the lambs 
are born. After they are several days old the ewes 
should be fed with much liberality. In choosins: food 
for them, two thoughts should be prominent, viz : to give 
them such foods as will produce an abundant milk flow 
and that will also maintain them in a good condition of 



GROWING WINTER LAMBS 161 

flesh. Without the first, the lambs will not grow rap- 
idly enough, and without the second the ewes will not 
breed sufficiently early the following season. Such 
fodder as medium or alsike clover and millet cut at the 
proper stage and well cured, are unexcelled. To the 
strain factors, bran and oats or barley, corn should be 
added, as the condition of the ewes may call for it. 
The allowance of roots, not more than two or three 
pounds per day^ before lambing time, should now be 
increased to several pounds. Indeed the ewes may be 
ffiven practically all they will eat clean of the roots if 
such food can be spared. Ensilage will serve a good 
end in the absence of roots, but it is not equal to roots in 
providing milk. 

Feeding the Lambs. — The lambs in each of the divis- 
ions should have a creep provided within the same, ,and 
should have a constant supply of grain and fodder, but 
more especially of grain. At the first, the grain food 
may consist of ground oats with the coarse part sifted 
out, later of ground or crushed oats unsifted, with oil 
meal added in the pea form, and still later the mixture 
may profitably be made up of unground oats, wheat and 
bran, cracked corn and oil-cake. Barley may also be 
added. While the lambs should be given all the grain 
that they will eat, the food should not be allowed to 
become stale. Only for a few days at the first is it nec- 
essary to have meal all the time in the troughs. 

Disposing of the Lambs. — As orders come in for 
lambs, those about the right weights, and plump and 
fat should be chosen to fill them. Lean lambs, though 
large, should not be shipped until they are fat. It may 



162 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

be economy to castrate some of the older ones and to re- 
tain them for subsequent disposal, as circumstances 
may dictate. Much care should be exercised in drying 
off the eweSj as, when the lambs are sold the former 
will still be milking freely. 

Heretofore the market for winter lambs has been in 
Chicago and other large cities further east. But a 
market is being established for them in St. Paul and 
Minneapolis. Within a reasonably short period there 
will doubtless be a market for winter lambs in all the 
large cities of the west as well as in those of the east. 

Dressing the Lambs for Shipment. — To save in ex- 
press charges the lambs are usually slaughtered and the 
stomach, intestines and aesophagus removed before they 
are shipped. The methods followed in dressing them 
differ somewhat in details, but substantially they are as 
follows : The lamb is suspended by a rope fastened 
around the hind leg so that the head comes within about 
a foot of the floor. An opening should then be made on 
one side of the neck with a sharp knife, preferably on 
the left side and in front of the neck vertebrae. Within 
the small cut thus made the knife should be given some 
sweep forward to make sure that the large artery found 
there is severed. The stomach, intestines and aesoph- 
agus are then removed without disturbing the heart, 
lungs or liver. Two spreaders from 12 to 15 inches 
long should then be inserted to improve the appearance 
of the carcass. The first is inserted in the outer and 
upper part of the hind flank and then crosses the back 
diagonally, entering the opposite side nearly or quite as 
far forward as the chest. The second crosses the first 



GROWING WINTER LAMBS 163 

at right angles. The spreaders have shoulders about an 
inch np from the pointed ends. The caul fat should 
then be fastened bj means of two skewers at the thigh 
and point of the spreaders so as to cover all the meat 
not covered by the skin. As soon as the animal heat is 
given off each lamb is wrapped in two separate wrap- 
pers. The first may be of muslin or even plain tougli 
paper. About a yard will be required for each lamb, 
and it should be drawn tightly to prevent soiling when 
handled. The outer covering may be of burlap or sack- 
in qf. 

The method followed by Mr. W. F. Fletcher, of the 
Summit Park Farm, Minneapolis, is in some respects 
simpler. It differs from the method given above, first, 
in skinning the head and in removing the same at the 
first joint ; second, in removing also the heart, lungs and 
liver with the paunch and intestines ; third, in using 
only short spreaders, which remain inside the lamb only 
until it cools ; fourth, in not spreading the caul fat ; and 
fifth, in shipping in boxes made of half-inch dressed 
pine. Each foreleg is tied back and the lamb is put 
neck downward into the box, which stands on end, the 
hind legs projecting upward through an opening made 
in the end piece of the box. 

Improvmg the Quality. — In growing winter lambs, 
the kind of dams wanted cannot readily be obtained in 
the absence of Dorset blood. As soon, however, as the 
ewes thus furnished can be obtained in sufficient num- 
bers, other rams, as for instance, the Shropshire or 
Southdown, may be used in service. Lambs of some- 
what better mutton form and superior quality wouJd 



164 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

thus be obtained. For this purpose Southdown sires 
would probably be the best, owing to the perfect mutton 
form which they possess and to the early age at which 
they may be fattened. But when cross-bred s are thus 
grown all the lambs should be disposed of, as, to breed 
thus for successive generations, would tend to the pro- 
duction of lambs at too late a season of the year. 



CHAPTER XVL 
Shearing Sheep* 

In years gone by; that is to say, in the age of the 
spinning wheel and hand, loom, the practice of first 
washing sheep and then shearing them somewhat late in 
the season was almost universal. E^ow the tendency is 
more and more to shear early in the season and without 
washing. But, as washing may in some instances still 
be necessary, the process of washing will be included in 
the discussion. 

Time for Shearing. — When sheep are shorn without 
being washed, the fleece should be removed quite early 
in the season, but just how early will depend on the 
weather, the condition of the sheep, and the means of 
providing shelter for them. The more fleshy the sheep 
the earlier should they be shorn, because of the greater 
heat in the body. When shorn early they can be kept 
more comfortable in warm weather and in consequence 
thrive much better. If troubled with ticks, they will 
leave the old sheep as soon as they are shorn. And 
when sheep that are being fattened are not to be sold un- 
til after the advent of warm weather, early shearing is 
simply indispensable. Usually they may and ought to 
be shorn sometime in April. When shorn thus early Vo 
will be necessary to shelter them at night for a short 
time, and also in days cold enough to produce discom- 
fort. 



166 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

If sheep are to be washed before being shorn they 
cannot be shorn early, at least in any considerable num- 
bers, as the water, unless artificially heated, is so cold 
as to endanger the health of the parties who do the work 
and also of the sheep. When sheep are washed in 
streams, lakes or ponds, the work cannot well be done 
before the end of May, and in consequence the sheep 
suffer much from heat in warm days. 

Shearing Twice a Year. — Under Minnesota condi- 
tions it will seldom be necessary to shear sheep twdce a 
year, notwithstanding that such a practice may be com- 
mendable in warm climates. But there are instances 
when it will doubtless prove profitable to shear lambs 
dropped very early on the arrival of settled warm 
weather. 'Nor does it seem probable that it will pay to 
shear sheep in the autumn that are to go into the feed- 
ing yards. In experiments made by the author in On- 
tario, the difference in the gains made by sheep ^horn 
and not shorn in the autumn were insignificant. The 
mean winter temperature of Minnesota is considerably 
lower than that of Southern Ontario, hence the neces- 
sity for retaining the full fleece in winter in Minnesota 
would be greater than in Ontario. 

Washing Sheep. — When sheep are to be washed, a 
place should be chosen in which the water is waist deep 
or nearly so, where the bottom is rock or gravel, and 
where the shore or shores are firm, clean and grassy. 
More or less of current to carry away the dirt expelled 
from the fleece is also very desirable. A small enclos- 
ure of rails, poles, or woven wire is then erected on the 
bank, and open on the side next the water. In this the 



SHEARING SHEEP 167 

sheep are enclosed. One person hands the sheep to the 
washers, and if they are also tagged before being wash- 
ed, as thej ought to be, the services of a second person 
will be necessary in the enclosure. 

The washer leads the sheep into water beyond its 
depth. He can then turn it readily at will so that at- 
tention may be given to all parts of the fleece. When 
washing the dirt from a fleece the two hands with the 
fingers spread somewhat are brought down on the fleece 
more or less distant from one another, and the wool be- 
tween them is pressed. The pressure thus given expels 
the dirt which produces discoloration in the water. 
When no further discoloration can be thus produced, the 
fleece is washed sufficiently. The sheep is then convey- 
ed to the shore, and as soon as it has emerged from the 
water is held for a short time lest it should fall to the 
earth from the weight of water in the fleece. The flock 
should then be kept in clean pastures for a week or even 
for a longer period to allow the yolk washed out of the 
fleece to be replaced by yolk which, in the interval ex- 
udes from the glands of the skin. 

The more elaborate systems of washing by means of 
constructing dams and thus producing a waterfall will 
not be considered here, as these are probably a thing of 
the past. The same may also be said. about home wash- 
ing in tanks and with artificially heated water. 

Shearing Sheep. — Shearing until quite recently has 
from time immemorial been done by hand. 'Now much 
of it is done by the aid of sheep-shearing machines run 
by some kind of power. A small fiock may be thus 
shorn by using hand power, treadmill power or power 



168 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

furnished by a windmill. When a large flock is to be 
shorn and several machines are to be used simultaneous- 
ly power generated by some powerful agent as steam or 
electricity is necessary. The advantages claimed for 
shearing by the use of machines are greater dispatch in 
performing the w^ork, making fewer cuts in the wool and 
carcass of the sheep, doing neater and tidier work and 
securing a considerably larger amount of wool per fleece. 
These claims are probably correct, unless it be the last. 
The first time that a sheep is shorn with a machine more 
wool will certainly be obtained than from hand shearing 
because of the more close clipping. The increased 
amount will vary from a few ounces to more than half i: 
pound per fleece. It is greater in proportion as the 
fleece is dense and the carcass possessed of folds and 
wrinkles. But to the author it is not clear hoAv there 
can be any increase in the wool obtained from the same 
animal after the first shearing with the clippers. The 
disadvantages from using machines are that the clippers 
are more or less liable to get out of order, the shearing is 
too close for best results under all range conditions and 
the expense of the investment is too much when the 
flocks are quite small. Sometime, and it may be soon, 
.the machines may be so perfected that they will be 
used by all shepherds. 

The process of hand shearing is by no means uniform. 
The most expert shearers shear with both hands simul- 
taneously, but ordinarily one hand only is used. More 
commonly sheep are shorn on a floor, but some shearers 
use a table. Each shearer has his own method of work- 
ing, but more frequently the work is done somewhat as 



SHEARING SHEEP 169 

follows: The sheep is placed on its buttock with its 
back to the shearer, who places his left hand or arm 
around the head. The wool is then shorn from the 
brisket up the side of the neck and down to the shoulder. 
The other side of the head and neck are then shorn like- 
wise down to the shoulder. The fleece is then opened 
down the belly and clipped first on the left side down to 
the hips and as far as the back bone and then on the 
other side similarly. The sheep is then laid .flat on one 
side and is held thus by the shearer placing the left foot 
over the neck of the sheep while he removes the wool 
from one side of the buttock. The sheep is then laid 
over on the other side and the wool removed similarly. 
The shears used should have a nice, easy working spring 
or the hand will soon tire in working them. Care must 
be taken not to cut too far at one stroke lest the shears 
cut too high at the points and so necessitate a second cut, 
which very much injures the wool for being manufact- 
ured. 

Preparing the Fleece for MarJcet. — The way in which 
the wool is put upon the market materially affects the 
price. Each fleece should be done up neatly, and in that 
fashion that will meet the demands of the market. Be- 
fore rolling each fleece all tags with filth adhering to 
them should be removed, also loose straw and dirt of 
any kind. It may then be done up as follows: It is 
spread on a clean floor or table, the inside being down- 
ward. The two sides are folded in so as to overlap con- 
siderably. The wool at the tail and neck is also turned 
inward. The fleece is then firmly and neatly rolled and 
tied with two strings, each a short distance from the end. 







PP 



ig 



SHEARING SHEEP 171 

With some of the finer kinds of wool it may be necessary 
to use three strings each way. 

The amount and character of the twine used are 
items of some importance. One string each way may 
answer for some kinds of wool, but two strings each way 
are better. Small hemp or linen twine should be used 
and of a size that will call for about one ounce of the 
twine to the fleece. What is now sold as 'No. 18 hemp 
twine is very suitable. It is said to furnish about 
1,600 feet to the pound. With some the practice is 
common to tie with five strings each way, or even a 
larger number, and so coarse in character that the twine 
weighs from 3 to 4 ounces per fleece. The dealers very 
properly object to paying for cheap twine the same 
price as for wool. Moreover the hard fibres from coarse 
twine work more or less into the wool and injure the 
goods manufactured from it. 

The Wool Box: When a large number of fleeces are 
to be tied annually the use of a wool box, if properly 
made, will aid materially in the dispatch with which 
wool may be tied, and also in giving added neatness to 
the fleece. The wool box shown in Figure 24 will 
serve well the needs of the average farmer who keeps 
a flock of sheep. It consists of five pieces or boards, 
three of which, viz. : a, b and c, are each one foot 
square. The fourth and fifth pieces, viz. : d and e, are 
each three feet long and one foot wide. The pieces b 
and c, which are the two end pieces, are attached to a, 
the bottom piece, by strap hinges. As shown in the 
engraving these run across the grain of the wood in the 
bottom piece, to lessen the hazard of splitting the same. 



.172 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

At the outer end of each end piece three notches are cut 
as shown in the engraving. They are made by sawing 
straight downward in the end of each piece to the depth 
of nearly an inch, and they should be only wide enough 
to hold the twine fast that is used in tying the wool. 
The pieces d and e are the side pieces of the box when 
in place. They are attached to the bottom piece a, by 
T hinges. In the outer edge of each of these sides 
three notches are cut to receive the strings after the 
same manner as those cut in the ends. One should be 
in the centre of each board, and each one of the others 
at least three inches distant. 

When using the wool box, place it on a block of wood 
or on a box considerably less in size than the wool box 
when lying open, and about three feet up from the 
ground. It will be advantageous to screw the bottom 
down into the support to hold it firmly. Then spread 
the fleece to be tied over the wool table with the outer 
side upward. Put the strings in place by inserting one 
end of each in the notches, stretching them over the 
boards and inserting them in the corresponding notches 
opposite. In preparing the string, wind the cord 
around a piece of board the same length as the wool ta- 
ble, and from end to end of the board. Then cut along 
both ends of the board with a sharp knife. The strings 
thus severed will be the right length. JSText bring up 
the sides of the box d and e to the perpendicular, and 
put on one of the clamps f, not far from the end of the 
side pieces to keep them in place. Bring up the end 
pieces b and c similarly and hold them, in place with the 
clamp g. The strings are then tied. In some in- 



SHEARING SHEEP 173 

stances the wool box is placed nearer the ground, and 
the foot is used to press down the wool while it is being 
tied. 

The wool is packed in large sacks for shipment. 
These are suspended filled with wool and sewed at the 
top. While being filled the wool is tramped down so 
that it lies compactly. The four corners of the sack 
are left so that they can be readily grasped by the hand. 



12 



CHAPTER XVII. 
The More Common Diseases of Sheep« 

The diseases that affect sheep are probably less nu- 
merous and virulent than those which affect other class- 
es of domestic animals. But when overtaken with dis- 
ease the successful treatment of the same would seem to 
be relatively more difficult. This at least is the opin- 
ion of veterinarians who have studied the question. 
The explanation is found at least in part in the pecul- 
iar nature of the more common and fatal of the ail- 
ments that afflict sheep, since they are largely parasiti- 
cal in character. The importance, therefore, of pre- 
ventive measures in sheep husbandry cannot be over- 
estimated. 

In this chapter, the more common of the troubles and 
diseases that afflict sheep under Minnesota conditions 
will be discussed briefly. These include ticks, scab, 
tapeworm, stomach worm, grub in the head, goiter, ca- 
tarrh, bloat and various ailments that arise from con- 
stipation, more especially in the winter season. Some 
thing will also be said concerning ailments less com- 
mon, though sometimes present. 

Ticks. — The sheep tick (Mclophagus ovinus) is so 
well known that it is not necessary to describe it here. 
It is nearly always present to some exteii t in every flock 
and at all seasons of the 3^ear. Sheep ticks produce 
much discomfort in a flock. They suck the blood and 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 175 

while doing so they irritate the animals. The irrita- 
tion leads to rubbing, and the rubbing breaks the fleece, 
more or less, to its injury, and also leads to more or less 
of a loss in wool. The discomfort brought to the sheep 
also hinders their well doing to such an extent that they 
will not prosper if infested with ticks to any considera- 
ble extent. 

Dipping is probably the best and the only satisfac- 
tory remedy for sheep ticks. The process is described in 
Chapter XVIII. For winter treatment parting the 
fleece in various places and dusting in sulphur or other 
insect powders has been recommended. 

The liquid from steeped tobacco stems has also been 
applied by pouring it into spaces between the parted 
wool so as to saturate a considerable portion of the body 
underneath the wool. Such treatment, though more or 
less beneficial, is only partially effective. Sheep should 
be dipped twice a year for ticks, viz., in the spring and 
fall. 

Ticks would seem to be always more or less present 
in a flock of sheep, but it should be possible to complete- 
ly remove them as they live only a few days when re- 
moved from the sheep. In order to accomplish this it 
would probably be necessary to remove the flock from 
the surroundings recently frequented by them. 

8cah. — Although there are three kinds of sheep scab 
in which the head, the feet and the body respectively 
are affected, only the last named would seem to have 
given trouble in Minnesota. Common scab (Psorop- 
tes communis) causes greater loss to the sheep industry 
in the United States than any of the external parasites 



116 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

which prey upon them. Happily it is quite possible 
to destroy it, hence, sometime, it may be completely 
stamped out in this republic. 

Common sheep scab is produced by minute insects, 
many of them too small to be seen without the aid of a 
microscope. Usually, however, if a tuft of wool is pull- 
ed out near the edge of the infested part, little moving 
objects may be noticed by the unaided eye near the base 
of the wool fibres or among the scales adhering to these. 
The mites irritate the skin by biting it, thus producing 
an inflammation which is accompanied by an intolera- 
ble itching. The inflammation is accompanied and fol- 
lowed by the formation of a layer of scabs, beneath 
which the animals live, but since they work outward 
they are more numerously found on the outer edges of 
the affected part, and since the rubbing of the sheep car- 
ries them to other parts of the body they are thus en- 
abled to simultaneously carry on the work of torment in 
various centres on the same animal. The continuous 
unrest wears out the vital forces of the animal, and 
within a few months, if unrelieved, its death may fol- 
low. The mites work chiefly where the wool is longest, 
as on the back, -neck and flanks, and they work more 
actively in the autumn and winter when the wool is 
long than during the period immediately subsequent to 
shearing. 

When sheep are continually rubbing, and when the 
wool becomes taggy and finally begins to drop off, the 
presence of scab is to be suspected. When once located, 
remedial measures cannot be applied too promptly. The 
trouble is communicated by contact with the living 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 177 

mites. Such contact may be brought about by allowing 
sheep to graze on pastures which a short time previous- 
ly had been grazed by infested animals, by allowing 
them to occupy corralls, yards or cars where the latter 
have recently been, or to follow them on the highway. 
More commonly it reaches farm flocks through the me- 
dium of sheep purchased in stockyard centers, and oc- 
casionally through the medium of stock rams conveyed 
as freight. 

The remedy consists in dipping the sheep twice with 
but a few days between the dippings, as described in 
Chapter XVIII, and in removing them from their old 
surroundings and pasture grounds as soon as dipped for 
a period of at least 20 days. The mites cannot live for 
more than 20 days apart from the sheep and ordinarily 
not more than 12 to 15 days. Dipping should be pre- 
ceded by shearing when the weather conditions will ad- 
mit of so doing. Such shearing will add to the effect- 
iveness of the dip and to economy in its use. The first 
dipping should be followed by a second 8 to 10 days 
subsequently to destroy the mites that resisted the first 
dipping because the eggs that produced them had not 
been hatched. The second dipping should never be de- 
layed beyond 14 days, lest the mites hatched subsequent 
to the first dipping should have in turn laid eggs. The 
eggs hatch in two or three days after they have been 
laid, and in 15 days the females are capable of deposit- 
ins^ eggs. Though only a few animals in a flock should 
show pronounced symptoms of scab, the whole flock 
should be treated as it cannot be certainly known how 
far the infection has spread. And the fact should not 



178 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

be overlooked when introducing sheep from the stock- 
yards, that one dipping is no certain guarantee that the 
animals are entirely free from scab mites. 

Tape Worm. — Two species of tapeworm more or less 
infest the sheep of Minnesota in common with those of 
the United States. These are the fimbriate tape worm 
(Tarina fimbinata) and the broad tape worm (Tarina 
expansa.) The former, small in size, are found chiefly 
in the duodenum and. gall ducts. The latter, 12 to 15 
feet in length when matured, inhabit the intestines. 
The fimbriate species will not be further considered 
here as it would seem probable that nearly all the losses 
from tape worms which occur in Minnesota are caused 
by the broad tape worm. 

The life history of the broad tape worm, as also that 
of the other species named, is not fully known, and un- 
til it is the very best methods of dealing with it cannot 
be determined. It consists of a head and many seg- 
ments. The segments shed off when mature and are 
voided from time to time, and in this way the pastures 
become sources of infection. It has been noticed that 
sheep which feed upon pastures low and damp are much 
more troubled by the disease than thoae that graze upon 
pastures that are more elevated. The disease is very 
much more fatal in lambs than in members of the flock 
that are older. The greatest fatality occurs in those un- 
der four or five months, and usually in the months of 
June and July, but it is sometimes fatal even in year- 
lings. It is thought that the embryos from the cast-off 
segments are taken up by the lambs when feeding on 
the pastures. They lodge in the intestines, and develop 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 179 

rapidly in these, making a growth in some instances of 
a yard in a month. Several tape worms are frequently 
found in the one individual, but the number seldom ex- 
ceeds half a dozen. They put in their baneful work by 
extracting nutriment for their own support from the in- 
testinal contents, and by the irritation which their pres- 
ence produces, inasmuch that food assimilation is seri- 
ously hindered. They also obstruct the intestinal canal 
by their great bulk. 

The symptoms include an emaciated appearance, a 
pale and tight skin, dry and harsh wool and frequently 
in the later stages of the disease more or less of diar- 
rhoea, accompanied by a slow and tottering gait. Death 
is caused by exhaustion. In the meantime the appetite 
may remain good, and in some instances it is abnormal- 
ly so. 

In dealing with the broad tape worm preventive 
measures are far more important than those that arc 
remedial in character. These include the groAvth on 
the farm as far as practicable of all the sheep kept upon 
it, not allowing them to pasture on low grass pastures 
during the early months of grazing and confining them 
during these months to pastures that have been recently 
sown, as for instance, those from rye, mixed grains and 
rape, and what is even safer, feeding the flock on soiling 
foods in the yards until midsummer. Feeding an af- 
fected flock thus for one or two seasons would probably 
free it from this pest. 

It cannot be said that the remedies prescribed even 
by the highest authorities have proved very satisfactory. 
The aether ic oil of male fern is a favorite remedy. It 



180 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

is given in dram doses, along with 2 to 4 ounces of cas- 
tor oil. And it is recommended to allow the animals to 
fast for several hours before administering the medi- 
cine. 

Some respectable authorities claim that a decoction 
made from pumpkin seeds is an efficacious remedy. 
The seeds are first broken. They are then put into a 
pot and water is added. The water is brought to a boil 
and is subsequently kept simmering for 4 or 5 hours. 
Each lamb is then given the product thus obtained from 
one to three ounces of seed, according to its age and size, 
but not until it has first been fasted for 12 hours. If 
the decoction is too thick, dilute it with water. Repeat 
the treatment every ten days until three or four treat- 
ments have been given. 

When the labor and cost of remedial treatment is con- 
sidered in conjunction with its incompleteness, and 
when the ill-effects of the stagnation in growth upon 
subsequent development are taken into the account, the 
vast superiority of preventive over remedial measures 
in relation to tape worm will be at once apparent. The 
gasoline treatment, however, may prove more satisfac- 
tory. (See page 184.) 

The Stomach Worm. — The stomach worm (Strugglus 
Gontortus) is a small-thread-like worm that finds condi- 
tions which seem congenial to its well being in the 
fourth stomach of sheep. During recent years this 
worm, sometimes called round stomach worm, has led 
to more serious loss in lambs than probably all other 
diseases combined. When mature it is about an inch 
long. If the stomach of an infected animal is exam- 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 181 

ined imiaediately after death, the worms may be seen 
with the naked eje, either floating about in its contents 
or adhering to the mncous membrane. They are then 
of a reddish color as they feed in part upon the blood 
of the animal. When present in large nnmbers the con- 
tents of the stomach resemble a constantly moving mass. 
The symptoms of the trouble resemble so closely those 
caused by tape worms, that in the absence of a post mor- 
tem examination one cannot be easily assured of the 
cause of the trouble. The infested animals have a 
starved appearance. The skin becomes pale and the 
wool dry and harsh. Scouring is more or less frequent, 
and in some instances constant. But the best evidence 
is the presence of small worms which may sometimes 
be detected in the droppings. They are white in color 
when thus seen. The life history of the stomach worm 
is not yet fully known. It is certain that it is frequent- 
ly found in older sheep, but does not usually seem to 
harm them to anything like the same extent that it does 
lambs. The older sheep and probably also infected 
lambs drop the egg in the pastures. How long it can 
live in these is not known, but it is thought that it can 
so exist for months. It is probably taken directly into 
the stomach by the lambs when grazing. More com- 
monly it injures them while yet sucking their mothers 
or soon after they have been weaned. It has also been 
noticed that lambs feeding on old pastures are more 
likely to suffer harm from stomach worms than lambs 
feeding upon fresh pastures. In this fact we have the 
clue to the best method of coirbating the trouble ; that 
is to say, by pieventative measures. 



182 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

The preventative measures are of a tv^o-fold charac- 
ter. They consist, first, in grazing the ewes on pas- 
ti:res sown that same season, such as spring rye, mixed 
grains, as oats and barlej', rape, corn and sorghum ; and 
second, in confining the lambs or both lambs and ewes 
to the sheds and yards until the weaning period, and 
feeding them on soiling food and adjuncts. It is not 
yet certain that either method will prevent losses from 
stomach worms, but the indications point in that direc- 
tion. The lambs at the Minnesota station were serious- 
ly harmed by stomach worms in 1898. It is supposed 
the eggs were picked up in a small grass paddock on 
which lambs brought in from the range had been previ- 
ously confined. The lambs of 1899 were confined in 
the yards until the weaning season, but the ewes were 
allowed to graze. The}^ did exceedingly well. 'No evi- 
dences of stomach worms were present that year, nor 
have they appeared the present year, although the lambs 
are being grazed with their dams on freshly sown pas- 
tures in the same paddocks. 

The best remedy heretofore tried is known as the ben- 
zine or gasoline treatment. The common gasoline used 
in household economics would seem to answer the pur- 
pose quite as well as the more expensive benzine. The 
dose commonly recommended is from one teaspoonful 
to one tablespoonful according to the age and size of the 
animal. For a dilutant use either flax tea of a thin con- 
sistency, or Avhat is probably better, SAveet skimmilk. 
Four ounces of the dilutant and two teaspoonfuls or two 
drachms of gasoline, well shaken together, are sufficient 
for a lamb that weighs 50 pounds. A measuring glass; 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 183 

that is to say, a graduate such as may be obtained from 
any druggist, should be used to insure greater accuracy 
as to the dose given. The mixture is put into a small 
glass bottle so strong that when well shaken it is not 
easily broken. It is given to the lamb, held on its but- 
tock between the knees of the individual holding ii:, 
and with its back toward him. The head should not be 
held further back than the top line of the body, and 
great care should be taken to avoid stangulation while 
giving the medicine. Before treatment the lambs 
should be fasted for at least 12 hours, and also for a few 
hours subsequently. 

It has been recommended to treat the lambs thus for 
two or three days in succession and once again a week 
later. But if lambs have to be treated thus often after 
they have been weakened by the presence of stomach 
worms, to the author at least it is evident, that the lambs 
will not be of much value that same season, l^or will 
farmers care to resort to measures so heroic. They 
would almost rather lose the lambs. It is to be hoped, 
therefore, that the plan so successfully tried recently 
and on a number of occasions by Dr. M. H. Heynolds, 
of the Minnesota experiment station, and Dr. Brimhali, 
of the state board of health, will prove equally success- 
ful in all cases. They have had excellent results from 
treating the whole flock, old and young, but once, and 
then giving them a change of pasture. They used doses 
of gasoline varying from 2 drams for a small lamb to S 
drams for a large-sized mature sheep. The gasoline 
was put into a vessel containing the dilutant. The mix- 
ing was done by drawing the liquid into the syringe and 



184 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

ejecting it again, and a syringe was used in administer- 
ing it. The medicine was gently forced from the 
syringe into the sack at the side of the month. If treat- 
ment can be thus simplified and at the same time prove 
efficacious, this mischievous disease will have been shorn 
of half of its terrors. It may further be mentioned that 
Drs. Reynolds and Brimhall have also obtained results 
from using the gasoline treatment in the manner de- 
scribed above for tape worm that were decidedly encour- 
aging. 

Gruh in the Head, — This trouble has prevailed to a 
considerable extent in some parts of Minnesota. In a 
majority of instances it does not affect any considerable 
number of animals in one flock, but to this there are 
some exceptions. The grubs, minute at first, but over 
half an inch long when full grown, are deposited with- 
in the nostrils of sheep at some time during the occur- 
rence of hot weather, by a certain species of the gad-fly 
(Oestrus ovis.) They crawl up into the sinuses adja- 
cent to the brain and there develop slowly. The invad- 
ed parts become more or less inflamed, and this inflam- 
mation sometimes extends to the brain and leads to the 
death of the sheep. Fatal results more commonly oc- 
cur toward the approach of spring. This species of the 
gad-fly, about two-fifths of an inch in length, is so swift 
in its movements when seeking a place to deposit its 
young, that it can seldom be seen. But when sheep 
crowd together in time of hot weather in some shady 
place and hold their heads quite close to the ground, the 
presence of the gad-fly may be suspected. When the 
fly lodges within the nostril the animal runs about and 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 185 

strikes the ground with its fore paws in its efforts to dis- 
lodge the intruder. 

Grub in the head does not usually prove fatal, but in 
a considerable number of instances it does, more espe- 
cially when several grubs are lodged in one animal. Its 
presence produces more or less discharge from one or 
both nostrils, at first clear and thin but later thick and 
mucous. There is usually more or less of coughing and 
sneezing. Later the affected animals walk with low- 
ered head, lifting the feet high as they walk, but the 
movements of the head are various. The eyes become 
red, and watery, there is more or less grating of the 
teeth and running of frothy saliva from the mouth. The 
appetite wanes and the animal becomes stupid. Smyp- 
toms so pronounced often end fatally within a week or 
two, but in some instances recovery follows, owing to 
the expulsion of the grubs. 

Remedial measures for grub in the head have proved 
of so little value that they will not be considered here. 
Preventive measures may, however, do much to ward 
off this trouble. These are two-fold in character. First, 
the nostrils of the sheep are smeared occasionally with 
some offensive smelling substance, as fish oil, or equal 
parts of tar and fish oil. It should be applied with a 
brush and repeated every few days during the season of 
danger. Or, second, the sheep can be housed in dark- 
ened sheds during the heat of the day, as then only does 
the fly work. The whole period during which the fly 
may invade flocks in Minnesota is not certainly known, 
but it is thought that it covers at least the months of 
July and August. 



186 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

Goitre. — Goitre is more or less prevalent in Minneso- 
ta, and in some seasons causes considerable loss in lambs. 
When present the thyroid glands of the neck are more or 
less enlarged, and in some instances so as to form large 
swellings commonly spoken of as ^'lumps in the throat.*' 
It would seem to be fatal only in lambs, and usually at 
birth or within a short time thereafter. Sometimes the 
lambs are dead at birth. At other times they are so low 
in vitality that they die within a few hours. In yet 
other instances the swelling gradually grows less and 
finally disappears, but not infrequently it remains, 
though relatively reduced in size. 

The cause or causes which lead to the trouble are not 
certainly known. It has been claimed that it is influ- 
enced by the character of the water drank or by the pas- 
tures grazed, but neither claim has been satisfactorily 
established. Others contend that any influence that 
will lower the vitality of the dams, especially Avheri 
pregnant, favors goitre. Among these influences are 
close confinement, foul air, poor food and lack of exer- 
cise. The most potent of these would seem to be lack 
of exercise, as it has been noticed that ewes of a slug- 
gish disposition are more apt to produce goitred lambs 
than those of the opposite temperament. It is also 
thought that goitre is to some extent hereditary. 

When goitre occurs, treatment would seem to be of 
little avail. Sometimes, however, iodine has been ap- 
plied to the swelling with apparent benefit. Until more 
is known regarding the causes of the trouble preventive 
measures can only be adopted in a tentative way. The 
sheep should be kept under good sanitary conditions. 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 187 

It would seem to be especially important that they are 
encouraged to take exercise, particularly in winters of 
deep snowfall, and, as far as possible, breeding from af- 
fected animals should be avoided. 

Catarrh. — Catarrh is caused by exposure to storms 
^et and cold, or to draughts when the sheep are at rest 
m the sheds. Warm housing, followed by or alternat- 
ina: with sudden exposure, is also a frequent cause of ca- 
tarrh. Prominent among the symptoms are discharges 
at the nostrils and a watery inflamed and slightly sunk- 
en condition of the eyes. The discharge from the nos- 
trils is at first thin and watery, and later thick and of a 
yellowish color and in some degree offensive. 

N^asal catarrh is not accompanied by a cough. Treat- 
ment by giving medicines, unless for the purpose of ton- 
ing up the system, is of little avail. The animals which 
suffer from the ailment must first be protected from the 
causes which produced it. They should, then be given 
liberal food supplies to tone up and to build up the sys- 
tem. When catarrh is chronic and obstinate, the af- 
fected animals should be culled out and sent to the block, 
unless when there are special reasons for keeping them 
longer, as in the case of very valuable breeding animals. 

Bloat. — Bloat is simply undue distension of the first 
stomach. It is caused by the generation of gas conse- 
quent upon taking hurriedly into the stomach largo 
quantities of certain kinds of green food by animals 
that are hungry. Prominent among the foods that are 
most dangerous when thus taken into the stomach are, 
alfalfa, clover and rape. But certain kinds of weeds 
may also produce bloat when eaten greedily by hungry 



188 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

sheep. The danger is always greater when the pas- 
tures are wet by dew or rain, and when they are in the 
most succulent condition. 

Preventive measures are both simple and effective. 
They consist first, in not allowing sheep to graze on pas- 
tures that are likely to produce bloat when the stomach 
is empty, and more especially when the pastures are wet, 
and second, in cutting and feeding such food after it 
has wilted more or less. 

When bloat occurs, treatment, to be of any avail, must 
be prompt and decisive. The gas generated will some- 
times cause death from suffocation in a very few min- 
utes. When such danger is imminent, the pauncli 
should be at once punctured. The best instruuient for 
removing the gas is the trocar, which is used to puncture 
the paunch, and provide an avenue for the escape of the 
gas. Every sheep owner should have one of these in- 
struments. They may be obtained at certain hardware 
houses and drug stores. In their absence, puncture 
with a clean, long-bladed penknife, and insert a large 
goose quill for the escape of the gas. If the gas should 
cease to escape, the contents of the paunch should be 
pushed down by a knitting needle or something else that 
will answer by pushing it down inside of the quill. 
Puncture in the barrel depression, midway between th'.i 
last rib and the hip, and about three inches below the 
backbone. Point the instrument slightly inward. 

A round piece of wood, as for instance, a piece of a 
limb, may bring relief, if held like a bit far back into the 
mouth. It may be thus held by tying a string to each 
end at the sides of the mouth and then tying both strings 
at the back of the head of the sheep. 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 189 

If the breathing of the affected animal is not too la- 
bored, give 1 ounce doses of hyposiilhphite of soda dis- 
solved in one pint of water every half hour until the 
bloating subsides. This treatment may answer in cer- 
tain instances without using the trocar or knife, but it 
should also follow the use of the trocar to check ferment- 
ation and to neutralize the poisonous effects of the gas 
generated. In treating this trouble, great despatch and 
promptness must be shown. 

Digestive Troubles.- — Digestive troubles arising from 
food too dry and woody in the winter season, occur not 
infrequently. The most common of these is inpaction 
of the food in the third stomach. It is the forerunner 
and companion of constipation, and in some instances 
it leads to inflammation of the bowels. This constipa- 
ted condition of the bowels is responsible for much of the 
debility, poverty and general ill-doing that too frequent- 
ly characterize flocks in winter. When the vitality of 
the sheep is thus weakened it becomes much more sus- 
ceptible to various ailments than it would otherwise be, 
as for instance, catarrhal and kidney ailments. When 
impaction occurs it may be relieved by giving epsom 
salts. The dose for a mature animal of, say 150 pounds, 
is from 4 to 6 ounces, dissolved in a pint of hot water. 
If not relieved within 10 hours, the dose should be re- 
peated. But any tendency to constipation should be 
warded off by feeding daily some such laxative food as 
field roots, wheat, bran, oilcake or flax, along with the 
dry food. So important is it to feed more or less food 
of this nature to sheep in the winter, that the attempt to 
carry them through that season, without more or less ol 
it, is of doubtful propriety. 

IS 



190 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

Ailments Less Prevalent. — Some ailments that are less 
prevalent, though sometimes present will now be discuss- 
ed. They include foot rot, gid, lung worms, nodular 
disease and spear grass tumors. 

Foot Rot, in that form sometimes spoken of as foul in 
the foot, is not really prevalent in Minnesota or indeed 
in the l^orthwest, but it sometimes occurs. When it does 
appear it is usually caused by confining the animals to 
quarters either within or without that are unclean. In 
the contagious form it is very seldom if ever found, ex- 
cept when infected animals have been brought in from 
abroad. Though not apparently hereditary, some breeds, 
especially the larger ones, are more subject to it than 
those of a less size. It occurs more frequently among 
sheep that have been brought from dry pastures to those 
opposite in character, owing to changes of structural de- 
velopment, in the hoof, brought about by changed condi- 
tions. 

In the earlier stages of the disease it is not easy to dis- 
tinguish between the two forms of foot rot under discus- 
sion. In contagious fot rot, swelling and inflammation 
above the horn and particularly between the claws are 
among the first symptoms, whereas the other form is 
essentially a disease of the horn. In contagious foot rot, 
as also the non-contagious form, the horn of the hoof be- 
comes soft. Later it disintegrates and falls away piece- 
meal. Ulcers are formed on the exposed parts and the 
discharge from these has a most offensive odor. In se- 
vere cases much of the hoof is shed. The accompany- 
ing lameness is, of course, proportionate to the disease. 
When the forefeet are badly affected the sheep feed upon 
their knees. 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 191 

As soon as any indications of the disease appear, ac- 
tion should be prompt. The excessive horn should be 
cut away and any filth as dirt or offensive matter re- 
moved. The affected parts should then have creolin ap- 
plied every other day until healing is properly started. 
When a large number are to be treated they should be 
driven through a shallow vat or trough containing a mix- 
ture of creolin, soft soap and water, in the proportions 
of 1, 1 and 10 parts respectively, and covering the bot- 
tom of the vat to the depth of not less than one inch. 
The treatment is essentially the same for both forms of 
foot rot discussed above. 

Gid (Coenurus cerebralis) is a parasitic trouble which 
happily has not been markedly prevalent in Minnesota. 
The egg which produces the trouble may come from 
dogs, wolves, coyotes or foxes. The sheep may take 
these up in the pastures or when drinking. When 
hatched in the stomach they are in a few instances car- 
ried to the brain through the circulatory system and 
there they develop. Sheep thus affected hold the head 
in a peculiar position, as up or down, but oftener to 
one side. They walk betimes in a circle, act stupidly, 
stagger and have convulsions. In nearly all instances 
the affected animals die not many days subsequently 
to the first appearance of pronounced symptoms. About 
all that can be done by the flock-master is to keep dogs 
away from the flock as far as this may be practicable, 
and to burn or bury the heads of animals that may have 
died from the effects of the trouble. 

Lung Worms. — Lung worms in the United States are 
of two species. These are the hair lung worm (Stron- 



192 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

gylus ovis pulmonalis) and the thread lung worm 
(Strongylus filaria.) The hair lung worms are very 
small, and they penetrate the air passages of the lungs 
to their endings. The thread lung worms are much 
larger and they inhabit the bronchial tubes. The eggs, 
or the worms themselves, at some stage of development, 
are taken up by sheep and also by lambs in the pastures 
or in water, and in some way find their way into the 
lungs. The symptoms are somewhat similar in the two 
forms of this trouble. They include jnore or less dif- 
ficulty in breathing. A dry and pale skin, harsh wool, 
and in the later stages especially, a deep cough. jSTasal 
discharge also is then copious, when the. thread lung 
worm is present. It is much less common than the 
hair lung worm. Both are frequently found in the 
saine animal. Happily neither species has given much 
trouble in Minnesota. For the hair lung worm, treat- 
ment has availed but little. 

For the thread lung worm fumigation with certain 
substances and tracheal injections have been found help- 
ful, but it cannot be said that they have proved satisfac- 
tory. Where* either trouble has appeared, much care 
should be given to renewing the pastures frequently and 
to providing the flocks with pure water. 

Nodular Disease. — This trouble, which would seem 
to be American in its origin, is caused by a worm, 
which, in the adult form inhabits the large intestines. 
Its complete life history is not yet known. The adult 
worms are so small and adhere so closely to the intes- 
tines of infected animals, that they are not readily seen 
by the naked eye. Its presence leads to the formation 



THE MORE COMMON DISEASES 193 

of small, lumpy substances known as nodules, and it 
works the greatest harm to sheep in the winter and 
spring. The nodules are scattered along the digestive 
tract from the stomach to the anus. Each nodule con- 
tains a green-colored cheesy mass, and in it is imbedded 
a worm. Later these work out of the nodule into the 
. intestine, after which mature eggs are laid and reach 
the pastures in the excrement. 

This trouble does not as yet seem to have worked great 
harm in the Northwest, although it is present to some 
extent. It is only when a large number of nodules are 
formed that the consequences can be called serious. In 
some of the eastern states flocks have betimes suffered 
severely from it. The symptoms are somewhat obscure. 
Sometimes diarrhoea is present and at other times con- 
stipation. The appetite is frequently increased, since 
nutrition is withheld in proportion as the worms are 
numerous and active in the intestines. When the dis- 
ease proves fatal, dropsical cwellings frequently appear 
in the region of the throat and lower jaw in its later 
stages. 

Owing to the comparatively recent discovery of the 
disease and to the difficulty of reaching r with medi- 
cines, treatment has proved of but little avail. Fre- 
quent changes in pasture would seem to be the most ef- 
fective means of preventing its spread. 

Spear Grass Tumors are swellings that may rise on 
various parts of the animal because of the penetration of 
the skin and flesh by the small spines or needles produced 
by what is popularly known as spear grass or needle 
grass. The correct name is porcupine grass (stipa spar- 



194 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

tea) and it is probably distributed over nearly all the 
native pastures of the Northwest. The small pointed 
needles formed on the grass in the advanced stages of its 
growth lodge in the wool and eventually penetrate the 
skin. This result is hastened by the motion of the 
fleece and also by the twisting and untwisting of the 
spiral awns attached to the needles under the influence 
of changing conditions as to moisture. Their presence 
causes swellings and in these swellings pus is formed 
in some instances, hence running sores are frequently 
the final outcome. 

Treatment will not be necessary where preventative 
measures are given due attention. If both sheep and 
lambs are shorn before the maturing of the needles in 
the pastures, they will give but little trouble. The 
time of such maturity will vary with the season, but 
in Minnesota the needles do not fall earlier than proba- 
bly toward the end of June. Happily they fall within 
a week or two and then it is that the sheep should if pos- 
sible be kept off pastures thus infested. The presence 
of this grass can easily be detected since it grows up 
above the other grasses of the prairie and comes out in 
head late in May or early in June. It is usually scattered 
but thinly over the prairie and each plant has but few 
stems. The needles borne on the end of the seed-heads 
are somewhat less than an inch long and are very stiff 
and sharp. There is attached to them a spiral awn from 
say 3 to 6 inches in length. Close pasturing in the early 
spring will soon destroy this grass, and as the land is 
cultivated it disappears. 



CHAPTER XVIIL 
Dipping: Sheep. 

Sheep are dipped chiefly with a view to rid them of 
insect pests as ticks and the scab mite. When, however, 
the proper dips are used it is now pretty generally con- 
ceded that they influence favorably the action of the 
glands concerned in wool production, because of the 
cleansing influence which they have upon the skin. Ju- 
dicious dipping, therefore, should increase the growth 
of the wool and also improve its quality. 

How Often to Dip. — Nearly all authorities on sheep 
are agreed that they should be dipped twice a year, viz., 
in the spring and also in the fall. But so many dip- 
pings are not considered as necessary with the fine- 
wooled breeds, since ticks apparently do not multiply 
so rapidly in these. In the spring the dipping should 
be done a few days subsequently to the shearing of the 
flock, and a warm day should be chosen for it, as the 
sheep have at that time no covering to protect them. In 
the autumn they should be dipped a short time before 
being brought into winter quarters and while the weath- 
er is yet fine. Sheep young and strong, however, may 
be dipped in case of necessity when the weather is cold, 
even when the thermometer is hovering about zero. But 
when thus dipped the sheds in which they remain while 
drying ought to be comfortable. It is probably possible 
to remove ticks altogether by dipping, but this is a feat 



196 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

that seems to have been accomplished in very few in- 
stances. Its realization would probably necessitate ^ vo 
dippings at a time instead of one, with an intervax of 
from one to two weeks between them. It would also 
necessitate treating sheep similarly brought onto the 
farm from without. If a flock were thus completely rid 
of ticks further dipping would not seem to be an abso- 
lute necessity. 

To remove scab from a flock two dippings in succes- 
sion are necessary, the first to destroy the mites that 
cause the trouble and the second to destroy the mites that 
come from the nits which hatch out subsequently to the 
first dipping. The second dipping should take place 
from 8 to 10 days subsequently to the first. 

Freedom from insect pests and well doing in the flock 
are intimately associated. A flock infested with tick^^ 
cannot prosper as it otherwise would and when badly 
infested it will be diflicult to maintain it in a good condi- 
tion of flesh. Provision, therefore, should be made for 
dipping sheep on every farm on which they are kept. 

Various Dips Used. — The various dips used may be 
divided into two classes, viz., proprietary and home- 
made dips. The formula for making proprietary dips 
is in nearly all instances secret. Many of the dips of 
both classes have for their basis such ingredients as to- 
bacco, tobacco and sulphur, arsenic and carbolic acid. 
One of the oldest of the home-made dips has for its basis 
lime and sulphur. 

Whether the preference should be given to the proprie- 
tary or home-made dips will depend largely on the num- 
ber of animals to be dipped. Where only a small flock 



DIPPING SHEEP 197 

is to be thus treated there would probably be economy in 
using some of the prepared dips, but where the flock is 
large the same would probably be true of the home-made 
dips. 

The advantage from using the proprietary dips con- 
sists in their being at all times ready for use, so that no 
time is consumed in that way. The disadvantages from 
using them include their greater relative cost, and in 
some instances the uncertainty as to their efficacy. 

A majority of the proprietary dips have proved ef- 
fective when the directions for using them have been ex- 
actly observed. And here it may be observed that it is 
important when using those dips to adhere closely to the 
directions given. The same may indeed be said of all 
dips and more especially of those which contain ingredi- 
ents more or less poisonous. To have them do their 
work properly and at the same time without hazard to 
the sheep or to the men dipping them they should be of a 
certain strength. To single out any of the prepai'itory 
dips as being superior to the others would be invidious 
and would probably be attended with the hazard of do- 
ing injustice to some at least of the makers of those dips. 
But it may be mentioned that Chloro-naptholeum and 
Zenoleum have met with much favor in the l^orthwest 
as also some of the tobacco dips. 

Prominent among the home-made dips are those 
known as lime and sulphur, tobacco, tobacco and sul- 
phur, arsenical and carbolic. 

The formula given for making the lime and sulphur 
dip by Dr. E. Salmon, chief of the Bureau of Animal 
Industry, is substantially as follows: Take 8 to 11 



198 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 

pounds of unslaked lime and add enough water to 
slake the lime and to form what is termed ^^lime paste." 
sift into this three times as many pounds of flowers of 
sulphur as there were pounds of lime at the outset. 
Place the mixture in a kettle or boiler and boil from 
two to three hours, adding water when necessary. Pour 
the mixture into a tub, vat or barrel as, for instance, a 
kerosene barrel. Insert a spigot from 3 to 4 inches up 
from the bottom of the barrel that the liquid may be 
drawn off without sediment. When put into the dip- 
ping vat add enough warm water to make 100 gallons 
of the mixture. 

The objection has been made to this dip that it in- 
jures the wool, making it dry and harsh in consequence 
of the caustic action of the lime. The wool buyers 
often discriminate against such wool, as much as 2 to 8 
cents per pound in the price paid. It has the merit, 
however, of cheapness and efiicacy and when used short- 
ly after sheep have been shorn the objection does not 
apply. But it may be that this dip is slightly preju- 
dicial to the healthy action of the pores of the skin. This 
has been both claimed and denied. It is greatly impor- 
tant when using this dip to keep the sediment out of the 
mixture. 

Tobacco dip may be made as follows: Take 21 
pounds of prepared tobacco leaves and soak them in 
water in a covered vessel for 24 hours. Then bring 
the water almost to the boiling point. Eemove the ves- 
sel from the fire and allow the liquid to draw for at 
least one hour. ISText strain the liquid pressing the 
leaves at the same time to extract as much as possible of 



DIPPING SHEEP 199 

the nicotine and add enough water to make 100 gallons 
of the dip. 

The tobacco dip is comparatively cheap, and it is 
probable that it may be further cheapened by using the 
tobacco stems rejected by those who manufacture this 
product. But the amount used would pretty certainly 
have to be increased in order to produce the desired ef- 
fect. This dip has the further merit of improving the 
quality of the wool, as it makes it more soft and plia- 
ble. It should, however, be used soon after it has been 
made as the organic matter which it contains will de- 
compose readily. 

The formula for preparing the tobacco and sulphur 
dip as authorized by the officials of ISTew South Wales 
having such work in charge is substantially as follows : 
Use 1 pound of good leaf or manufactured tobacco and 
1 pound flowers of sulphur in making every 6 gallons 
of the dip when ready for use. Steep the tobacco in 
water in a covered vessel for 24 hours. The evening 
before using the dip bring the liquid thus obtained al- 
most to the point of boiling. Remove from the fire 
and allow to stand until morning. Mix the sulphur in 
water so that the mixture will 'x of the consistency of 
jsrruel. Strain off the infusion and press the tobacco 
leaves while doing so. Mix the liquid thus obtained 
with the sulphur gruel and add water until the dip thu^". 
obtained amounts to 6 gallons. 

The tobacco and sulphur dip is thought to be one of 
the best made. It has rendered excellent service to the 
flocks of INTew South Wales and other Australian colo- 
nies. It ought, of course, to be used warm. 





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DIPPING SHEEP 201 

The arsenical and carbolic dips kill ticks and scab 
inites readily, but owing to their poisonous nature they 
have to be used with great caution. Since the dips pre- 
viously described are not thus dangerous or only slight- 
ly so the formula for the arsenical and carbolic dips will 
not be given here. 

Dipping Vats and Dipping. — The nature of the dip- 
ping vat or tank to be used should be largely determined 
by the size of the flock. For a small flock such as is 
kept on the average farm a steel tank will answer the 
purpose sufiiciently well. Several makes of these have 
been put upon the markets during recent years by reput- 
able firms. Home-made dipping tanks will probably 
cost less at first, but they are not likely to last so long as 
a steel tank properly cared for. 

Figure 25 represents a home-made tank cheap in 
construction, economical in the use of dip and conveni- 
ent for those who may do the work. It is j2:iven by 
Stewart in ^'The "Domestic Sheep.'' A represents a plat- 
form of boards nailed onto 2x4 inch scantlings. This 
platform may be of the same length as the tank or a lit- 
tle shorter and it may extend out, say 36 inches from 
the tank. The tank B is 48 inches long, 30 inches deep, 
24 inches wide at the top and 10 inches at the bottom. 
It is sunk into the ground to about half its depth. The 
frame may consist of 2x4 inch scantling and the lining 
of IJ inch flooring tongued and grooved and pitched at 
the joints. C j-i-jpresents a sloping platform which 
drains into another tank D. This tank should be con- 
siderably shorter than the dipping tank to facilitate the 
colecting of the ooze which is returned from time to 




MNVi ^NUdia 



c-t 
be 



bjj 

o 



DIPPING SHEEP 203 

time as the dip drains from the sheep. When using 
this tank a sheep is caught and laid on platform A. It 
is then grasped by the fore and hind legs respectively by 
two persons, one at each end of the platform, and lifted 
into the tank back downward, where it is held for the 
requisite time. It is then lifted out onto the draining 
platform and held there long enough to allow the dip to 
drain from it. The process may be hastened by the 
holders of the sheep moving one hand first over one side 
of the animal and then over the other. 

When a larger flock is to be dipped the plan followed 
by George Harding and son, of Waukesha, Wis., is a 
model of convenience. The accompanying sketch in 
Figure 26 will aid the description now submitted. 
The dipping tank is at the end of the hog house, which 
is built on sloping ground so that at the end where the 
tank is, a platform could be made to aid in loading 
young cattle, sheep and swine into a wagon for ship- 
ment. The platform extends out 6 feet from the build- 
ing and is about 2^ feet from the ground. The passage 
way inside the piggery is 40 feet long and 6 feet wide 
and holds about 40 sheep at one time, according to size 
and breed. The rear side of the loading platform is 
enclosed by the door of the passage way which opens 
outward and which is as wide as the passage. But 
smaller doors may be used as shown in the engraving, 
and the rear side of the platform enclosed by a perma- 
nent fence. The end of the loading platform may have 
a gate to swing inward or it may be temporarily en- 
closed. 

The tank itself is 9 feet long inside at the top and 6 



204 



SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN MINNESOTA 



feet at the bottom. The end next the platform is per- 
pendicular, and the opposite end slants upward at an 
angle of about 40 degrees and has slats on it to enable 
the sheep to climb up into the draining yards. The 
depth is 3 feet 8 inches and the top of the tank is nearly 
on a level with the platform. The width at the top is 
2 feet and at the bottom 1 foot, inside measurements be- 
ing used. 

The tank is made by setting up 5 pairs of 2x4 inch 
scantlings connected at the bottom with 2x4 inch pieces 
set on edge. It is sheeted on the inside with two thick- 
nesses of match flooring and the flooring is well coated 
with paint. The draining pen or platform is 12x6 feet. 




SIDE V/£W OF 
DRMNING. "PENS, DIPPING TANK fe L0AD\MGTLATFOTm 

FIG. 27. 

It is divided by a partition in the center and each divis- 
ion will hold 8 sheep at one time. The floor of the two di- 
visions thus formed slants a little toward this partition 
and under it is a depression leading into the tank, so 
that the drip or ooze from the fleeces runs back into the 
same. The floor of the platform is covered with tin 
formerly used for roofing. A gate is hinged at the end 
of the partition next to the tank which swings both 
ways. The sheep are thus kept draining in one divis- 



DIPPING SHEEP 205 

iou of the yard while the other is being filled. The yard 
is protected by a three-board fence running around it 
and each division has a gate for the exit of the sheep 
when the dip has drained from them. 

One man puts the sheep into the tank. Two men 
tend them while in the tank, one on the outside and the 
other in the space between the tank and the piggery. A 
boy tends the gate to let the drained-off sheep out of the 
yards. In this way all are kept comfortably busy. 
One hundred sheep may thus be dipped in one hour 
when all things have been made ready. 

The dip is mixed with hot water in pails before it is 
put into the tank. And the water in the tank is also 
made warm to add to the effectiveness of the dip. 

The water is heated in a kettle used for cooking food 
in the piggery. The piggery has eve troughs and these 
fill the tank after it has been cleaned out subsequent to 
each dipping. The water thus collected in part sup- 
plies the piggery. 

A tank may be similarly constructed apart from fi 
building, but in that case a yard would have to be made 
in lieu of the passage way in the piggery from which 
the sheep would be taken into the tank. 



14 



206 INDEX. 



Page 

Age at whicii to breed ewes 115 

Ailments less prevalent 190 

Alfalfa for hay 71 

American merinos 26 

Arsenical and carbolic dips 201 

Barbed wire 97 

Barley straw 75 

Bedding use freely 134 

Beets, sugar 76 

Benefits, from sheep husbandry 9 

Not sufficiently considered 14 

Bloat 187 

Danger from 68 

Breeds adapted to Minnesota conditions 23 

Bright and healthful climate 20 

Bromus Inermis 72 

Brush land, pasturing of 138 

Burrs, protection from 142 

Cabbage, for pasture 61 

Growing 65 

Grazing 68 

Carbolic and arsenical dips 201 

Carrots 76 

Castrating and docking ; 110 

Catarrh 187 

Changing pastures 138 

Cheviots 35 

Climate, bright and healthful 20 

Clover 71 

Coarse-wooled breeds 37 

Corn, for fodder. 74 

For stover 74 

Growing 61 



INDEX. 207 

Grazing 66 

Corralling at night 139 

Cotswolds , 39 

Cross breeding 49 

Crossing, zigzag 49 

Delaine merinos 27 

Digestive troubles 189 

Dip, how often to 195 

Oips used 196 

Dipping vats 201 

i.>i:wjases of sheep 174 

7>t^>a^<ro,ying weeds 11 

Oocking and castrating lambs 110 

Borsets 31 

Drafts, freedom from 134 

Dressing lambs for shipment 162 

Erecting fences 98 

Ewes, management of 114 

Exercise for 120 

Selecting breeding 114 

Management of, till mating season 114 

Age at which to breed 115 

Mating 115 

Going into winter quarters .....'. 117 

Grading the flock 117 

Food for, previous to lambing 118 

In the lambing season liiO 

Food for, subsequent to lambing 120 

During the weaning period 121 

Feeding the 160 

Exercise for flock in winter 135 

Fattening period, duration of 148 

Fattening sheep and lambs 144 

Sources of supply 144 

The class of sheep to fatten 145 

The season for fattening 147 

Foods used in 149 

Feeding the food • • 151 



208 INDEX. 

Amount of food consumed 153 

Increase in weight 155 

Feeders, two classes of 145 

Feeding young lambs 109 

Feeding ewes with winter lambs 160 

Feeding winter lambs 161 

Fencing, amount of 95 

Made of wood 96 

Made of smooth wire. 96 

Made of barbed wire 97 

Made of woven wire 97 

Made of woven pickets 98 

Posts for 98 

Fences, erecting 98 

Movable 100 

Fertility, maintenance of 12 

Field roots, varieties of 76 

Fine-wonied breeds 25 

Flax straw 76 

Fleece, preparing for market 169 

Fleece and form, leading essentials of 50 

Flock, grading the 117, 132 

Fodder and grain in winter 133 

Fodders for sheep, requisites in 70 

Food, used in fattening 149 

Feeding the 151 

Amount of, consumed 153 

Succulent 130 

Variety in the — 131 

For ewes previous to lambing 118 

For ewes subsequent to lambing 120 

For rams in winter 126 

Varied production of 1& 

Foot rot 190» 

Gid (Coenurus cerebralis) 191 

Goitre 186 

Grades, establishing a flock of 43 

Grading the flock 117 and 132 



INDEX. 209 

Grain and fodder for winter 133 

Grass pasture 68 

Grub in the head 184 

Grazing supplemental pastures 66 

Growing supplemental pastures 61 

Growing winter lambs 157 

Hampshire Downs 35 

Hay, varieties of 71 

Hindrances to sheep husbandry 20 

Housing too warmly 133 

Increase in weight 155 

Incidental benefits 13 

Lambing pen 159 

Lambing season 105-120 

Lambs, care of newly born 106 

Weaning 112 

Feeding young 109 

Winter 157 

Dressed for shipment 162 

Feeding winter 161 

Disposing of winter 161 

Improving the quality of 163 

Who should grow winter 157 

Foundation stocks of winter 157 

Season for winter 159 

Castrating and docking 110 

Leicesters 38 

Lime and sulphur dips 197 

Lincolns 38 

Lumber, sheds built of 80 

Lung worms 191 

Maintaining fertility 12 

Males, select, from one breed 45 

Management of ewes till mating season 114 

of rams during winter 125 

of rams in summer 126 

of rams at mating season 127 

Mangels 76 

Marketing lambs and sheep 155 



210 INDEX. 

Market, preparing the fleece for 169 

Materials for shelter 19 

Mating ewes 115 

Mating season, management of rams in 127 

Merinos, American 26 

Delaine 27 

Rambouillet 27 

Middle-wooled breeds 29 

Millet, for fodder 72 

for pasture 59 

Growing 64 

Grazing 67 

Mixed grains, for fodder . 73 

for pasture 59 

Growing 64 

Grazing 67 

Movable fences 100 

Native hay 71 

Nodular disease 192 

Oat straw 75 

Oxford Downs 37 

Pastures, turning out on 137 

Changing 138 

Supplemental ." 53, 55, 61, 66 

Utilizing summer 10 

Pasturing swampy land 139 

Pasturing brush land 138 

Pea straw 76 

Pen, lambing 159 

Period, weaning 121 

Pickets, woven 98 

Plentiful shade 17 

Poles, sheds of 79 

Posts for fencing 98 

Present hindrances to sheep husbandry 20 

Productive soil 18 

Proprietary dips 196 

Protection from burrs 142 

Providing shade 140 



INDEX. 211 

Pure breds, great opening for 41 

Who should grow 42 

Establishing a flock of 42 

Quarters, winter 117, 130 

Rambouillet 27 

Rams, care of subsequent to weaning 124 

Management of during winter 125 

Food for in winter 126 

Management of, in summer 126 

Management of at the mating season 127 

Younger or older 128 

Amount of service for 129 

Returns twice a year 9 

Requisites in fodders for sheep 70 

Rape, for pasture 59 

Growing 63 

Grazing 66 

Roots, varieties of field 76 

Russian Brome grass 72 

Rutabagas 76 

Rye, straw 75 

for pasture 55 

Growing 61 

Grazing 66 

Salt and water in winter 135 

in summer 142 

while fattening 155 

Scab 175 

Season, lambing 105, 120 

Selection of males 45 

of breeding ewes 114 

Sending to market 155 

Service, amount of, for rams 129 

Shade, providing 140 

Shearing, sheep 167 

Time for 165 

Twice a year 166 

Sheds, sheep 79,80 

Site for 78 



212 INDEX. 

Sheep, fencing for 95 

Sheds 79, 80 

Washing 166 

Shelter for 78 

Tagging the 136, 141 

Trimming 136 

Shropshires 29 

Smooth wire 96 

Sorghum, for fodder 75 

for pasture 57 

Growing 63 

Grazing 66 

Southdowns 29 

Soy beans, for pasture 61 

Growing 65 

Grazing 67 

Spear grass tumors " 193 

Stomach worms (Strongylus Contortus) 180 

Stover, corn 74 

Straw, varieties of 75 

Sheds made of 80 

Succulent food in winter 130 

Suffolk Downs 35 

Sugar beets ; 76 

Sulphur and lime dips 197 

Sulphur and tobacco dips 199 

Supplemental pastures — 

Necessity of 53 

Benefits from 55 

Plants best suited for 55 

Growing 61 

Grazing 66 

Swampy land, pasturing of 139 

Tagging and trimming 136, 141 

Tape worms 178 

Ticks 174 

Timothy 71 

Tobacco and sulphur dips 199 

Tobacco dip 198 



INDEX. 213 

Trimming and tagging 136 

Tumors, spear grass 193 

Tunis 31 

Turnip 76 

Variety in food in winter 131 

Varieties of hay 71 

of straw 75 

Various dips used 196 

Vats, dipping 201 

Washing sheep 166 

Water and salt, in winter 135 

in summer 142 

while fattening 155 

Weaning, care of rams subsequent to 124 

Lambs 112 

Period in ewes 121 

Weeds, destroying of, by sheep 11 

Weights, increase in 155 

Wheat straw 75 

Winter lambs, growing 157 

Quarters, going into 117, 130 

Wire fencing .96, 97 

Wood, fence made of 96 

Wool, preparing, for market 169 

Wool-box 171 

Worm*, Lung 191 

Stomach 180 

Tape 178 

Woven picket fence 98 

Woven wire fence . 97 

Zigzag crossing 49 



